Lives Collide
by SteelPorcelainMXIV
Summary: Penelope Lynx isn't the only newcomer at the Phantomhive manor. Despite their varied pasts and personalities, the angels, demons, humans, vampires, reapers, and other assorted beings had no idea that their lives were about to become more complicated than ever. [Adapted from a roleplay.] [Many Pairings] [Sequel to Just a Matter of Faith]
1. Chapter 1 - Part I

**Warnings: **Language, mature content (which will be mostly 'timeskips' unless there are requests for lemons), same-sex relationships, cracky pairings, weird timelines, insane plots, mpreg, OOCness, OCs, stuff that shouldn't exist during Ciel's time period, plots that end unresolved...if you can think it up, it's probably here or about to be.

**Disclaimers: **I don't own Kuroshitsuji, the roleplay that is the basis of this fic, certain OCs, and what OCs and canon characters that aren't mine say and do since I'm trying to keep the original dialogue and actions.

_Special Notes: _Roleplayer credits will be given at the end of each chapter and kept disconnected from their characters to protect from bashing and such. PM me if you want your name associated with a character/OC and I'll add it in the credits. If you don't want your name in the credits, your character/OC in this fic, or have some other issue, then politely PM me as soon as possible. _After I post chapter 3 or 5, depending on responses to Lives Collide, I will start PMing people to make sure that they don't mind_ _their characters being in this fic. _

...

**A/N:**You don't have to read Just a Matter of Faith or the stories behind other OCs in order to understand anything here, but this fic takes place after season 2 of the anime. ...Okay, more like a season 2 which doesn't end with Ciel turning into a demon, and somewhat mixed with bits of the manga. I apologize in advance if the writing style isn't up to par with what you're used to reading or consistent with my other fics - the beginning of the roleplay is mostly dialogue and simple actions so I have to add little details from time to time, plus the post threads can be hard to follow and organize. We get a lot better at description and dialogue later.

This starts and includes plot from when my characters enter the ropleplay but I'll find a way to hint at events that they weren't involved in. If there's anything I've forgotten or should mention don't be afraid to let me know :)

Phew! That long intro is long, but I don't want to cut corners! Anyways...

* * *

_Lives Collide_

_Created in honor of a certain Kuroshitsuji Roleplay's first anniversary, and so no one has to strain their brain too much when trying to explain or remember everything that's happened._

_Adapted from the original posts._

_Dedicated to the Admins, Mods, and FF Users that made it happen._

_March 21, 2013 - Present_

_-:-_

* * *

_-Part I-_

* * *

"Yay! We're going to a theme park!" a small boy with short reddish-brown hair clapped his hands, giggling for a bit before stretching his arms out to the sides and running around the two women he must have been talking to before Penelope got within earshot.

"Eh?" Penelope thought to herself as she listened in, stopping a fair distance away. _"What's a theme park, and why's he think it's so exciting?"_

Suddenly one of the women looked over and saw the skinny blonde newcomer, then smiled in a way that only a grandmother could have (she did look like she could be a grandma, after all). "Hello! Who might you be?"

Penelope started a little but didn't feel like the elderly human was dangerous. "I'm...awfully confused...apologies. I'm Penelope Lynx. And who might you be?"

"Queen Victoria! What is confusing you, dear?" the Queen glanced down at the little boy, who'd hidden behind her skirts when he saw Penelope approach. "It is alright, brother. She won't hurt you. Right, Penelope?"

Penelope glanced at the other woman present, who had white hair and very lightly-colored eyes and only wore a long dress shirt and some shorts - said woman only returned her gaze for a moment before casting her eyes downward - and then back at Queen Victoria and the little boy, smiling a little at the latter to show she meant no harm. "And who's that adorable little thing?"

"This is Luka, my little brother by adoption!"

_"What a lucky boy! He looks familiar though...and he's adopted by the Queen - wait, that's the Queen of England!"_ Penelope quickly backpedaled, trying to remember if she'd answered all of the questions she was asked. "I was looking for a coworker because he lied to me about how much paperwork he'd left for me. And nice to meet you, Luka!" she held out her hand to the boy.

"Hi..." Luka blushed and hid even further behind the Queen.

The white-haired woman shyly peered at Penelope again. "I'm...I'm Nimbz..."

Pennelope smiled but this time it didn't quite reach her eyes. Nimbz seemed quiet and submissive, but probably had a wickedly sharp tongue when she wanted...like some other reaper women she knew... "A pleasure."

"There's no need to be shy, right Penelope?" the Queen asked, almost as if she'd sensed the mood change. Luka must have been a little oblivious to it, however, because he came out from behind his adopted sister slightly.

"Are you implying something?" Penelope quipped almost too sweetly. Then she saw the frown on Luka's face. "Oh, excuse me! It's hard to relax when a lot of your coworkers don't approve of your choice of occupation!"

"Oh..." Luka intoned softly before exchanging glances with Nimbz. The older girl looked away, her face slightly flushed.

Penelope wondered what was up with those two...

Queen Victoria blinked in surprise. "No dear! I was honestly saying that! Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like you were bad or anything! What do you do for work?"

"I'm...uhh..." Penelope wasn't sure if they knew anything about the supernatural, and she'd never had any training for if something like this came up. "It's kinda hard to explain..."

"Are you a demon hunter?" Luka's eyes widened at the Queen's words.

_"So they do know something...it should be fine to say now." _"I'm a shinigami."

The Queen smiled again. "Oh, I have heard of them but never met one before!"

"I'm honored!" This time Penelope's smile was genuine. To be the first shinigami that the Queen of the British Empire had ever met!

"The one I hear about most is Grell, do you know him?"

"Grell?" Luka softly chimed in, having never even heard of death gods before.

"He is a shinigami, I think. Sebastian is always complaining about him."

Penelope waited until the Queen had caught Luka up before replying. "Oh yes...it was his paperwork that got me in trouble...I'm supposed to reap souls if he has too much paperwork, not the other way around!"

"Never heard of him before...what's a shinigami?" Luka looked up at the Queen for an answer.

Penelope chuckled. "Don't let him hear you say that."

"A shinigami is a death god...some people call them reapers." Queen Victoria suddenly laughed, most likely because of Penelope's comment. "Well a lot of people complain about him."

"My soul was consumed by Hanna," Luka told the world in general, smiling brightly, "but then she brought me back; now she's like my Momma."

Penelope stared in shock at the boy. "Dafuq?! No wonder I showed up here when I did!" With a flick of her wrist she summoned a green umbrella out of thin air. Yup, definitely out of thin air, and not from some hidden pocket in her black trench coat.

"And are my baby brother!" Queen Victoria smiled at Luka even as he yelped and ducked behind her, Penelope's sudden movements scaring him. "That was cool." She then commented on Penelope's 'magic trick.' "Don't worry, no one will hurt you."

Luka nodded but didn't comment.

Penelope nodded at the Queen. "Thanks. This is my scythe, Ember. Now don't make me work too hard..." she peeked around the older woman in order to see Luka better, but Luka quickly moved to the other side.

"I hope you don't plan on using it on anyone, especially someone who doesn't need it." the Queen picked up a so-scared-he-turned-white Luka and stepped away from Penelope.

The reaper frowned but lowered the umbrella-scythe. "Fine, but don't think you can wave that promotion in front of my face forever."

Luka's glare was as stern as an adult's.

"He is a five-year-old, not a promotion. He should be treated as such." Queen Victoria immediately jumped to the boy's defense.

"If you were in my position and wanted to show those men a thing or two he would be! Nimbz, wouldn't you think so?!"

Nimbz (who everyone seemed to have forgotten about until Penelope demanded her opinion) looked up at the commotion, then at Luka.

"Do they give you a hard time because you are a girl? Disgraceful! I can see what you're getting at, but still, Luka is just a child. He shouldn't have to have that happen to him."

"What is she talking about, sissy?" Luka queried shyly.

"Some of the guys she works with are mean to her because she is a girl. That ain't fair, now is it?"

Penelope pouted. "Yes... Especially William because I saw him pressuring Grell to keep me out of the field. But he's something none of us have seen before!" her second comment referring to Luka.

Nimbz took the next small pause, blinking as she looked at Penelope. "What's this talk about me being a girl?"

"Well that is horrible! I would walk right up to William and be like, 'Hey, if you are going to be like that then I am going to go on strike and take so-and-so with me!' I bet that will put him in a bunch of overtime and he will be mad! Is there anyone who treats you nicely?"

"If you found a way to show people who hate you that you were worth something, would you do it?" Penelope managed before coming up with a reply for Queen Victoria. "Just Grell...and sometimes I wonder about him..." Even her cousin Jasper gave her the cold shoulder at times, although now it was happening more often than not...but bringing that up could make Penelope feel more depressed.

"Him; I thought Grell was a girl? Sebastian always says Grell wants to bear his babies?"

Nimbz replied to Penelope after the Queen did this time, but looked back at the floor. "I don't care what people think about me. I don't care if they hate me or not."

"That's a good and a bad thing." The Queen told Nimbz. "It would help you but also hurt you. Still, I applaud, I wish that I was like that a little more."

Luka, who'd lost track of the conversation a while ago, stayed silent and huddled against his adopted sister.

Penelope shook her head, getting confused by the conversation as well as trying to hold back her boys'-love-addict side. "Grell's _confusing._ Uggh! And I respect that and all, but people'll walk all over you.

"You''re stubborn." She suddenly turned and frowned at Nimbz.

Nimbz didn't have anything to say to either of the other women until Penelope made that comment. "Stubborn?"

The Queen nodded at Penelope. "Sounds like it..."

"Sissy..." Luka eyed Penelope nervously. "I don't like her."

"Yeah." Pen glared back at Nimbz before looking at the other two again. "Oh Ember doesn't hurt...much."

The Queen looked down at Luka when she heard Penelope. "I won't let her hurt you."

Luka kept staring at Penelope out of fear though.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" he tilted his head.

"Aggh you made it worse!" Penelope managed not to squeal over the cuteness.

Confused, Luka looked up at Nimbz and Victoria. "What's she talking about."

Nimbs shrugged and yawned, still holding her arm, but the Queen gave the boy a thumbs-up and a smile. "I have no idea...Do you want some sweets?"

At the word 'sweets' Luka's eyes lit up and he licked his lips, smiling and giggling like he was before Penelope scared him. "Yes, sissy!"

"I'll go make some then! Does anyone else want any?"

Penelope caved. "Fine! Fine! I won't get Ember involved! And it's not because Luka looks so adorable when his eyes light up like that!"

The boy in question giggled at being called adorable.

"Of course not." Victoria winked.

"Grr. I'd like some sweets too then." Penelope huffed as she put her death scythe away, burying her head in her hands when Luka smiled in relief at her. He. Was. So. Precious.

"Sweets?" Nimbz chimed in, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes! Sissy makes the best sweets!"

The queen turned to go inside the manor. "Okay! Wait a moment and I will be back."

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

Baka-Hentai-Nina

Fluffy-Little-MLH

SebbyXCiel4eternity

SteelPorcelainMXIV


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

Sophia looked at Cheryl in an almost indifferent manner. "Oh great, another demon. This manor is overrun."

"Well excuse me for wanting to help father." said demon frowned.

"Who is your father?"

"Sebastian." Maybe mentioning who her father was would make the other girl back off.

"That's the guy I stabbed with my knife yesterday; my knife is made from a reaper's weapon so it's perfect to deal with scum like your kind." Sophia couldn't help but sneer a little.

"Why the _hell_ did you stab him?! And I didn't do anything to you. Damn you reapers!"

"Because he is a demon and I am a demon hunter."

Cheryl's eyes glowed an angry vermillion. "You must have a reason to kill him, not just for fun."

"Of course I do but I am not telling things like you."

"But you still hurt my father...Sophia." It was clear that she wanted to call Sophia something much worse but Cheryl didn't want to sink to the other's level.

"And? He's a demon, he deserves it."

"It's my father we're talking about," Cheryl clenched a fist, "so it matters to _me_."

Unfazed, Sophia drew the very knife that she was taking about and prepared herself in case she ended up fighting the other girl. "Oh go cry me a river."

That did it. As soon as she noticed the knife, Cheryl threw a dagger at Sophia while quickly leaping out of range of a counterattack.

Sophia easily dodged the knife but chose not to chase down the other girl - she'd have plenty of time to do that later.

...

Cheryl finally felt that she was far enough away from Sophia to stop running and slump against a tree. "I hope father is okay."

"Hello, Cheryl."

Cheryl quickly turned her head to see who was speaking to her. "Father! You're okay!"

"Don't hug so hard." Sebastian frowned slightly.

Cheryl blushed in embarrassment and loosened her hold. "Sorry..."

"It's all right. That hunter really did a number on me."

"I was worried..."

"I am fine, as you can see."

It could have been true - Sebastian's overall appearance was spotless. Cheryl had to release him and step back a little to be sure though.

"But I freak when my family gets hurt without me knowing." She rubbed her neck sheepishly.

"It's understandable. You are a good kid."

"Thanks dad." Cheryl smiled at the rare compliment even as she clenched her fists at her sides. "I feel like killing that hunter right now."

"Be my guest."

"One problem, she may have a reaper's weapon again."

"Yes, that weapon she has is really problematic." That comment definitely meant something since it came from an experienced demon who'd gone up against it and lived.

Suddenly, Cheryl got an idea. "I wonder if that charm works?"

"What charm?"

"In my time I think I found a charm that makes reaper weapons useless..." Who knew what using a charm from the future would do when used in the past, but it wasn't a bad idea, right?

Sebastian clearly thought otherwise. "It wouldn't solve anything. She is more likely to lash out if she doesn't have her weapon. She might even hurt humans to get to us demons."

"Uggh, damn that hunter!" Cheryl threw her hands in the air and growled.

"I know; annoying things, aren't they." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Second most annoying thing other than that Grell..."

Of course the demonic butler decided that a topic change was in order when the cross-dressing shinigami was brought up. "I am getting too close to that human Elora, way too close."

Cheryl's head jerked up. "What?" _"Please, this cannot be happening. I love my life with my parents."_

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I was thinking maybe it's best to let her go. Dante or Hannah can take away her pain. Plus, with that hunter around, it's too dangerous."

"I think you should." _"I just want my family to stay together. If it doesn't...I...I won't exist."_

"That's what I'll do then, for your sake as well as hers."

"Why for my sake?" Cheryl hugged herself, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. _"What if he doesn't want me...Cheryl! For goodness sake, stop that!"_

"Because I want you to be born."

A lump suddenly formed in Cheryl's throat and she rubbed her arms to distract herself. "I don't know why you want me to be born...I just...love you and mom so much."

"Because you're my girl, that's why."

Cheryl, unable to control her emotions any longer, hugged her father. "I love you dad..."

"I love you too."

"This may sound cheesy, but things would've been better without that hunter." Cheryl smiled.

"Sup demons."

Well, speak of the devil...

"Ugh, and here she is." Cheryl huffed. "Why are you here?"

Sophia coldly watched the father and daughter. "To kill Sebastian."

"Not on my watch." Cheryl growled and moved in front of the demonic butler but Sophia quickly darted forward and cut her face with her knife.

Fortunately, Cheryl managed to heal quickly and shifted into the form of a nine-tailed fox before batting the other woman away from Sebastian. Sophia only catches herself and throws more knives at Cheryl's eyes, but Cheryl easily catches the weapons with her tails and throws them back, roaring with enough force to knock Sophia away when she dodges her own weapons and tries to move in for a short-range attack. The hunter was knocked out.

"Dad, on my back, now. Are you okay?"

"I am fine."

Cheryl glared at the unconscious Sophia. "Don't mess with my family...or there will be trouble." she added before running away again. Once she had a decent plan to kill the hunter, she'd stick around, but her dad was more important right now. "Good. I hope she doesn't ever approach you or me again, or anyone from my family; there is only so much pent-up anger that I can restrain."

"Thank you."

Cheryl gave Sebastian a foxy smile. "Anytime, dad."

...

"I think we're far away from her now." Cheryl laid down and curled up once the demonic butler had dismounted. "Now, how to get rid of her..."

"We have no option but to get rid of her."

One of Cheryl's tails twitched in annoyance. "Yeah, I know. But how?"

"I do not know yet."

"She does have a reason to hate demons though..."

"We aren't the most friendly people on earth."

"Yeah...but...it's not like we did anything to her!" Cheryl scratched the ground in frustration.

"She hated Hannah more than us though; she burned down her village."

"Isn't that the same village as Alois's?"

Sebastian nodded.

"That's Luka's fault then. But I can't blame him, people do crazy stuff for their loved ones." As if on cue Cheryl returned to her human form and idly kicked a stone.

"She might see it as the demon's fault for not being there to do the contract and fulfilling Luka's orders."

"You got a point there." the girl sighed, resting her chin in one hand while making a little blue flame appear above the middle finger of her other and moving it around. "oh," she took something from her pocket and passed it to Sebastian. "That's a soul in case you're wondering, figured you needed it. and it's also the triplets' fault too - they follow Hannah."

Sebastian nodded and ate the soul. "Thank you."

"No problem. If you need one, I can always get one for you. Some place I found has souls all over the place." she took out another soul and ate it. "This is going to be tough."

"What is going to be tough?"

"Getting rid of the hunter. Hey Lightning." Cheryl greeted a snow leopard that she'd called without realizing it, patting its head.

"I know."

Cheryl sighed and held out a necklace with sapphires to Sebastian. "You can give this to mom. It's pretty and she likes blue." she went back to studying an old-looking script written in an unknown language, something else that Lightning had brought her besides the necklace.

"I don't remember giving anything like this to your mom."

"You didn't give it to her yet. Anyway, I think I can understand some of the words here. Something like: 'the heart is a very complicated thing' and 'sometimes you think revenge is the best way.' Other than that, I can't understand anything else."

"That sounds like something I would say."

"Yeah, it does." Cheryl stroked Lightning's head again and changed him into his kitten form. Instead of staying with his master, Lighting jumped into Sebastian's lap and curls up into a small ball. "If you're wondering how I still keep her, well, let's just say mom admitted she likes cats but avoided them because of her allergies. Since we took care of that problem she doesn't mind them anymore."

"I think you solved a major problem there."

Cheryl laughed. "You also tolerate canines, but I still make my wolf, White Fang, avoid you sometimes."

"That won't happen."

"That's what you said. Mom had a laughing fit when I told you I wanted to keep him and you made that disgusted look."

Sebastian simply shook his head in disbelief and tried to refocus on Lightning's adorableness.

"Other than that, it's quite peaceful. Other than Claude trying to hit on mom, that is." Cheryl muttered something else as she reached over to pet Lightning.

The kitten suddenly looked up. "Finally!"

Sebastian looked down at the ball of fluff in his lap. "Finally what?"

"I was starting to think that she'd never let me talk."

"I do that for good reasons, Lightning."

"Ya could at least do it more often."

"If I do let you talk all the time, humans are bound to freak. AND want to torture you again." Cheryl huffed. "I'll give you and White Fang the ability, just act like an ordinary snow leopard in front of humans."

"Alright, mistress."

Sebastian let the two carry on.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Karshiva


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

Luka yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Morning Cher."

Cheryl picked the younger boy up and hugged him. "Hey Luka, how's the little prince?" She asked as she spun him around.

"I'm good!" Luka giggled and hugged back. "How are you, Cher?"

"I'm fine. I was talking to my dad just now, then he had to go."

"Sebastian? ...He's letting my mo- Hannah stay here with us. She's sleeping in Sophie's room!" The boy had kept himself from calling Hannah his mom because he still wasn't quite sure what she was to him.

"Who's Sophie?"

"Sophia; it's a nickname."

"What's that person doing here?"

Luka giggled happily, not knowing that he and Hannah were at the root of some of the demon hunter's problems. "Hannah? She's here to stay with me!"

"Luka, sweetie, I'm not talking about Hannah. I'm talking about Sophia. She's a demon hunter, which means that she kills demons like me and my dad."

"I dunno..."

Cheryl set Luka down before kneeling at his level. "Luka, honey... She tried to kill my dad just now, and she cut my face. I had to turn into my animal form to protect my dad." She put her hand to her face and Luka flinched when he saw the cut.

"Why would she do that?"

"I have no idea, I think she just hates demons." There was no way that the boy would take the truth well. "Besides, I heal, so don't worry about me getting too injured." The older girl healed her injury before patting Luka's head.

"But the demons I've met are good and nice to me. Hannah would never hurt anyone. Sophie shouldn't hate them."

Of course, Sophia rounded the corner at that point. "Hi, Luka."

Cheryl took one look at Sophia before turning back to Luka. "Here," she handed the boy a sweet and ruffled his hair playfully, "a treat for the little prince. And she hates us demons because one burned her village down." Hopefully the candy would keep Luka from asking who's village it was.

"Yum!" Luka turned to throw the wrapper away and saw Sophia. "Sophie! You're here too!"

Sophia stopped glaring at Cheryl to respond, "Yes, I am here. How are you?"

"Would you please stop glaring at me? I don't burn villages down!"

"Go back to hell, why don't you?" the demon hunter gritted her teeth.

"I'm not doing anything to you. Don't go around blaming demons when one that you know - that isn't me or my dad - is the one responsible for burning your home down. I'm not that heartless!" Cheryl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Demons don't have hearts."

"They do, they just don't usually feel emotions. Besides, I was feeling very angry at the fact that my family was in danger. I can feel sadness too, you know."

"But you guys can't feel mercy, pity, or grief. You cannot because that stops you from carrying out your orders."

"Well I SURE CAN! For goodness' sake, get a life! I had to be reborn as a human! I knew I was a demon but I had to be a human for my parents' sake! I was sold into slavery, escaped, got a job, was beaten by my master, quit my job, married, had kids, but they all died a bloody death because some freaking idiot was as drunk as hell!" Cheryl couldn't help but sniffle a little, "so why don't you think we're all like that?!"

"Cry me a river."

"You have _no _idea how much I feel like tearing you up right now..."

"You wouldn't win."

"Yes I would. Because 1.) I'm a hell princess and 2.) I'm from at least two centuries into the future."

Both girls had forgotten about Luka until he started to slowly move away, eyes wide in fear.

"What's wrong?" Sophia ignored Cheryl to comfort the boy.

Despite wanting to actually say, _"Freaking demon hunter! Get a life or rot somewhere!"_ Cheryl found herself watching Luka and, "Did you hear our...conversation? I don't think you should hear this...it'll...get messy..." leaving her lips.

"I'm okay." But Luka still looked rather traumatized.

"Ah, go chew on a soul or something." Sophia glared at Cheryl before refocusing on Luka. "Kid, do you want to go to the park?"

"Oh hush! Can't you see that Luka's here?"

"If you don't want me to say anything, then leave."

"Park?" Luka grinned and completely ignored the dark atmosphere.

Sophia grinned at Luka. "Yeah, just me and you."

"You can go, Luka. I'm fine." Cheryl sighed, sitting on a nearby sofa and did a trick to magically make snowflakes, not looking at Sophia. "You can't control me and I think we shouldn't argue in front of Luka."

But Luka had seen Cheryl's snowflake trick and ran over to her. "Cool!"

Cheryl smiled and handed him a snowflake. "This one won't melt."

"Pretty! Thank you!" the boy beamed.

Sophia couldn't deny that she wanted Luka to be happy as well. "All right." She nodded to Cheryl and left for the park, which was within sight of the house they were staying in.

...

Cheryl watched Luka and Sophia through a window that had a good view of the park. _"Wow, Sophia and I agreed on something. ..Speaking of agreeing, I wonder how mom and dad are."_ She thought to herself as she took out a sketchbook and drew Luka swinging on one page before turning to a fresh sheet of paper. It didn't take her long to draw and color herself, Sebastian, and a woman that looked like a female Ciel. When she found herself tearing up over not being able to be with her parents in real life, she focused on adding roses to the corners of the page and turning the background into a black backdrop littered with stars and a full moon. _"Why does she have a scared look...and why do I care?!"_ Cheryl almost smacked herself as she looked out the window again and saw Sophia's face. She turned back to her drawing, coloring the roses, the sky, and the moon. When she was satisfied with the picture (and making sure the moon was just the right shade of blue), she turned the page and began sketching what looked like a wedding portrait.

...

After putting his never-melting snowflake in a safe place and playing with Cheryl, Luka had joined Sophia at the park and was happily swinging away, giggling at the world in general. Sophia smiled as she watched him, although she was a little scared of his potential reaction to the question she was about to ask.

"You okay, Sophie?"

"Yeah...say, Luka, what do you think of demon hunters?"

Luka tilted his head. "Why would people hunt demons?"

"For lots of reasons."

"Like what?"

"To stop the evil demons from hurting humans, revenge..." Of course those were the first things to come out of Sophia's mouth.

...

Cheryl scoffed as her demon hearing picked up that comment, then casually opened the window and sent a purple butterfly in Luka's direction. "They only do that if they're in a contract."

"Go to hell." Sophia just barely caught the other girl's words.

"Hush up! I'm trying to make him happy! Sheesh!" Sebastian's daughter closed the window after sending another snowflake to Luka and went back to drawing. "Bitchy hipster." she muttered angrily.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Karshiva


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

Thorn, a green-eyed woman with red streaks in her long blonde hair glared at Sebastian as she approached him. "Okay, time to face the music, demon boy. I want this mark off of my body, pronto." She practically shoved her arm into him.

"Fine." the demonic butler easily did as he was asked.

Thorn looked at her arm in surprise. "Um...thanks. I thought that would be a lot harder to get you to do."

"I have no fear of Dante anymore." Sebastian said indifferently.

"You don't? Not to be ungrateful for taking off that mark, but why are you suddenly not seeing him as a threat?"

"Because I have no need of Elora anymore."

Thorn smiled but tried to appear less happy than she really was. "Really? That's great. I guess I'll go tell Dante and Elora then."

"All right, but I would rather tell Elora on my own." Sebastian frowned.

"Have it your way." Thorn wandered off.

...

The blonde found Dante not long after she left Sebastian.

"I have some good news."

"What is it?" the new demon asked.

Thorn showed him her arm and shoulder, which bore no trace of the mark that he'd put on her.

"He took it off. Why?" Although Dante wasn't supposed to question Sebastian's decisions he couldn't help by do so now.

"He doesn't want Elora anymore," the demon's lover wrapped her arms around his neck, "meaning her soul is yours. Plus, you and I have nothing to worry about now."

"No, that's not what it means. It means that he isn't going to wait until her soul matures, he is going to take her soul either today or tomorrow. I am glad he took that off of you."

Thorn removed her arms since Dante didn't seem to be in the mood. "What? Well, yeah... It's great that he took it off, but I thought she still had more time. Even with you trying to take her soul, she would have time to say goodbye to everyone. This just seems a bit cruel to her." She sighed. "Why did her change his mind to do it today or tomorrow, anyway?"

"Probably because he has gotten too close to her."

"Kind of like you and me." Thorn frowned.

"Because I have fallen in love with you, there would be no way that I would be able to take your soul. You see, it's problematic for Sebastian."

Because he neither loves Elora nor hates her, but is starting to like her too much and he doesn't want it to get as far as love." Thorn shook her head. "Great. Perhaps I should have Brin warn her before Sebastian finds her."

I would; she would be able to say her goodbyes. But I wonder if Elora can manage to get out of this somehow. It should be amusing to watch."

Thorn smirked. "I agree."

"I sort of feel sorry for Elora, you know - she will never experience this," Dante leaned down a little and lightly pressed his lips against the blonde's.

"I know. She'll never feel this kind of true emotion." Thorn returned the kiss and then deepened it.

Dante let her and put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer.

"Maybe we should take this somewhere more private." Thorn had to pull away slightly in order to speak.

"Perhaps." The demon really didn't want to though.

The blonde chuckled a little, reading his expression. "Or not." She went back to kissing him and even wrapped a leg around his waist.

This time it was Dante who deepened the kiss.

_{...timeskip...__}_

Dante smirked, only to have his chest lightly hit by a smirking Thorn. "We're enjoying this way too much," she stretched and yawned. "It tires me out."

"Go to bed if you're tired."

Thorn pouted. "Will you sleep with me?"

"Sure." Even though demons didn't have to sleep, he'd go ahead and humor his lover.

"Great," the blonde yawned again. "Carry me to bed then. I'm too tired to walk."

"All right." Dante took her to his room instead, only to be pulled into bed.

Thorn was too tired to notice. "Night."

"Goodnight, my love."

...

Sophia woke up and stretched, not pleased about her sleeping arrangement. If only she'd known that she was going to share a room with a demon sooner...

"Hello... You don't happen to know where Luka is, do you?" Hannah asked her roommate.

"Sleeping, so don't wake him, demon."

"...I have no desire to..." Hannah blinked. "What's happening at the moment? And weren't you supposed to be locked up?" It had been a while since Hannah had been around other people, as she'd been off on some errands and was trying to catch up on what she'd missed.

Sophia grinned slyly. "I escaped."

"I must get Sebastian to come and lock you up...but I won't...if you at least try to be civil." Hannah sighed. "Who helped you then? You couldn't have gotten out alone..."

"Why not? I'm an extremely talented demon hunter. There is no way in hell that you will ever get along with you."

The demoness smirked slightly. "Heh. Well, I can get you locked up again if I want to..." She opened her mouth to call for Sebastian.

"How can you call for anyone if I cut off your tongue?"

"You could do that, right? Teh..." Hannah huffed in disbelief but closed her mouth anyway.

A blue-haired girl of almost-indeterminable age decided to walk into the room as if she owned the place. "I apologize, but I can't let you harm her." She told Hannah.

"Hi, Saffi, want to join the fight?" Sophia asked.

The blue-haired girl, Saffi, smirked lightly before flashing a masochistic grin highlighted by a set of prolonged fangs. "I'll miss out on all the screaming if I don't."

Hannah felt like she at least had a chance even though the odds weren't in her favor. Based on the smells in the room, she had to deal with a human who was aware of the supernatural and a well-aged vampiric demon.

"Time to get my revenge for my village," Sophia's comment and following attack with her knife broke the demoness out of her thoughts and forced her to reveal part of her serpentine demonic form in order to fend off the assault. Then Saffi darted in and sliced Hannah's side open.

"Heh, I'm enjoying this too much." Saffi's eyes glinted a gleeful vermillion as she glanced at Sophia.

Sophia chose that moment to stab Hannah's arm, making the demoness roar in irritation.

"Enough!" Sebastian's voice was loud enough for the three to hear through the adrenaline rushing through their systems.

"Than you..." Hannah shrunk away, panting. She wasn't sure if she had been the demon who burned down Sophia's village but figured the human attacked her simply because she needed to pin the blame on someone.

"No problem." Sebastian nodded in her direction.

Saffi only smiled darkly at the demonic butler. "Sorry...I didn't mean to become trouble...Sorry!" her fangs shrunk a bit as she licked the blood off of her arms.

Sebastian was having none of that. "Get out of my sight." He then turned to Sophia and grabbed her by the neck. "I am really getting tired of this, Sophia. If you continue to act like this I will not hesitate to kill you painfully. I will even let Hannah join in."

Saffi saw the look on her ally's face and clung to the door handle for a moment, sighing softly. "Sorry, but the big man says you gotta deal with this alone, soo..." she swung out of the room and giggled creepily as she ran off.

Hannah tisked, smirking at her newfound enemy.

"You... I... Will... Kill... You!" Sophia struggled for breath as she glared at Hannah. "I promise you that!"

The demoness only smiled and turned to look out a window. "Shame... You can't do that right now... Take her down to the dungeons again, Sebastian."

"She will only escape again." True to form, Sophia was already struggling to free herself from the demonic butler's grasp.

"Hmm... Do you have any other ideas on what to do with her?"

"I have some ideas."

"You do? Then she's yours."

Sophia gritted her teeth as she was pushed closer to Sebastain.

"Yo!" Saffi suddenly reappeared. "I could keep an eye on her if you wanted!"

"You?!" Hannah's eyebrows rose in disbelief at the blue-haired girl.

Sebastian frowned a Saffi. "Stay out of this; you were the one who let her escape in the first place."

"I did not! Why do you suspect such things of me?" Saffi faked a childish pout.

The demonic butler looked back at Hannah, ignoring Saffi for now. "If you mark her she will have to do as you say or it will cause her pain."

"Mark her?"

Saffi sighed and leaned against the wall, preferring to be a bystander this time. "Ahh, I'm in complete peace here!"

"Yes, it's similar to how you do a contract but iys more of an advantage for you instead of her." Sebastain told Hannah before giving Saffi a dark look.

Hannah thought about it. "...Fine." She moved to mark Sophia but Saffi quickly pushed her away before she could do too much damage.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Sophia suddenly screamed and the blue-haired girl shoved Hannah to the floor. "I'm sorry, all...but I'm a type of demon like you, and we all have our contracts..." She smirked and tugged a now unconscious Sophia out of Sebastian's grasp. "Heh. Sorry, I'm in charge here." She kicked away Hannah, who'd tried to attack her again.

"Damn vampire." Sebastian muttered to himself.

"Yes, I'm a vampire... Poor little sadistic demon... I remember a time when you actaully said you remembered liking me..." Saffi grinned. "Well, anyhow... Toodles!" She skipped out of the room with Sophia on her back.

Sophia managed to regain her senses by this point and looked down at Saffi. "Where are we going?"

"Away...to another room so that we don't have to deal with this... Ya do know that the contract I made with you wasn't just to get you out, but to protect you, right? As long as my blood supply is still alive, the contract will last..."

"Blood supply? I don't need protection, I need to kill Hannah."

"'Don't need protection'? Ha! If I weren't there that demon might as well have devoured your soul... Face it, you'd get nowhere without me... I'm doing this because Ivan and Damien think we'd make quite a good hunting pact, and because you amuse me slightly. Blood supply? Oh yes - I get to drink your blood whenever I like!" Saffi chuckled and went up another stairway into an abandoned attic bedroom and sets Sophia down on the bed. "How's the mark?"

"So glad me trying to kill demons amuses you. I remember only allowing you to drink my blood just to get out; you didn't tell me that this was going to be an ongoing deal. Damn vampire..." the demon hunter winced in pain.

"Yes... I cheat and lie like the demons... Oh well. I'm looking forward to taking care of Claude with you...damnit, I want another taste of his spidery blood...and vial his puny life by... Where'd Hannah mark you?"

"My wrist."

"Seems like you've got a pentacle there, huh? This won't take long..." Saffi covered the mark on Sophia's wrist with her mouth. "My saliva has powerful healing properties."

"So why do I have to be your chew toy then?"

"Not a chew toy, just a contract where I drink your blood when I want, and in exchange I will help you do jobs. What're your thoughts on this?"

"Do what you like as long as I am still able to kill demons."

"Heh...you amuse me... Fine, I thank you for that." Saffi pulled a duvet up to Sophia's chin. "Get some rest - we'll finish the demon off tomorrow and then kill Claude."

"All right." Sophia closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, Saffi sat in a nearby chair. "I wonder if she sleep talks or has nightmares... Haha, let's see, shall we?" She blew out the candles and relaxed.

"Mum...dad...no! Leave them alone...stop..."

A click of the vampire's fingers relit the candles. "Hmm, interesting. She talks about her parents - apologies, I interrupted your sleep. Are you feeling stronger now?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes, and the pain in my wrist is gone too."

"That's good too... So explain how you want to kill her..."

"I want to make her feel like she has lost everything like I did."

"That's a start," Saffi moved closer, "so, are you really considering tutoring the kid in being a hunter like yourself?"

"Yes, or kill him, whatever works out the easiest." Sophia didn't want to kill Luka, but if she had to...

...

Brin knocked on Dante's bedroom door, knowing that Thorn may very well be inside with the demon. "Hey Thorn! Are you awake?"

"She's sleeping." Dante opened the door just enough so that nothing inside the room was visible to the woman with pale skin and straight black hair standing in front of him.

"Oh...so early? It's only seven. ...Oh. I get it." Brin grinned pervily and winked.

Dante sighed. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to Thorn, but since I cant...I'll talk to you about Thorn. So, are you treating my best friend right?"

"Yes I am."

Brin narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure? Because if you hurt her there will be nothing to save you from my wrath."

"I have treated her with the utmost respect."

"Good."

"Thorn wanted to talk to you about something," Dante brought up as he heard the blonde stir behind him.

"Really? What?"

"Just talk to her."

"Okay." Brin walked into the room once Dante moved aside and saw Thorn, who was barely awake. "Hey Thorne."

The blonde yawned and rubbed her eyes. Is it morning already?"

"No, but I heard you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Oh yeah, that's right, I did. I need you to warn Elora about Sebastian. He's coming for her soul today or tomorrow."

"Okay...I can do that. Wait, her soul?"

Thorn looked at Dante. "Can you explain it to her? I'm too tired for this."

Dante nodded. "To stop himself from falling in love with her, he is going to take her soul early."

"Why does he want her soul, anyway?" Brin asked.

"Because it gives the demon who eats it infinite strength."

"Like he needs more strength."

"It still helps."

"Well I better go talk to Elora." Brin nodded and left.

As soon as thorn's friend was gone, Dante turned back to Thorn herself. " Morning, love."

"Morning. How long have you been up?"

"About an hour or so."

"Well that's not too long of a time to wait for me."

"Did Brin tell you?"

Dante only pulled Thorn close in response.

"Do you believe that Elora will live past tomorrow?" the blonde sighed as she leaned against her lover.

"I don't know, but the probability isn't good."

"That's what I thought."

"I would ask you to go with her, but knowing his mood I may not get you back alive."

"It'll be okay, love." Thorn kissed the demon's cheek. "I'll go with Elora and we'll both come out of it alive."

...

Elora was asleep by the waterfalls that she'd found when wandering a while ago when Brin finally found her. "Elora! Elora! Wake up! You're in danger! Sebastian..." Brin panted.

"Wake up."

Unfortunately, Brin had arrived just a little too late - Sebastian was already there. The demonic butler glared at the black-haired human and put a finger to his lips as he leaned over Elora, who was already grumbling a little.

"Can't a girl get any sleep around here?"

"Get away from her!" Brin yelled at Sebastian.

"Fine." To her surprise, Sebastian actually left. Maybe he was hoping that he'd get an easy meal.

As soon as she was sure that the demonic butler was gone, Brin ran over to Elora. "Elora, what are you doing here? Sebastian could have killed you!"

"What the hell, Brin. Couldn't you see I was sleeping?" The teenager massaged her temples, probably already getting a headache since being blind has sharpened her hearing. "Kill me? Oh God, what did I do now?"

"You could have died and you're worried about sleep?! Sebastian's going to take your soul any time now!"

Elora froze and growled. "How do you know about this?"

"Dante and Thorn told me. Sebastian removed the mark on Thorn because he's going to take your soul soon. He's getting too close to you."

"Then I'm getting to him... I better go see Dante about this though - Sebastian probably won't be very happy. But first," Elora rinsed her mouth with some water, "if I die today, please protect this place for me. It was originally my sanctuary from the world but recently prying eyes and greed have been taking it from me. I want it kept safe from anyone that is not you or I, okay?"

"Uhh...okay. "Brin nodded and followed the other woman towards the manor.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Magdalena Saffi-Anne Marshall

Ruby of Raven

Snow Woman


	5. Chapter 5

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

"Hi." Dante greeted Elora when he caught sight of her.

She dragged him into an empty room, making sure that Brin didn't see where she went. "We need to talk."

"I know."

"You do? Then...why? I understand the situation, but really, why?"

"Because he is starting to feel things for you that a demon of his nobility really shouldn't feel. It's shameful for someone of his status to fall in love with a human."

"...About the time with the fire demons...does that contribute as well?"

"Yes. There are two possibilities that could occur. He takes your soul now or he stops relieving you of your pain. If he does the latter you are open to all sorts of demon attacks, not to mention you would probably go insane from the pain."

Elora shivered at the thought. "What should I do?" a single bloody tear ran down her face. "I don't know if I can reason with him."

"If he decides on the second option you have me and Hannah to take away your pain; I can't do anything if he chooses the first option." Dante gently hugged the blind girl. "He has feelings for you, that's why he's doing this, so you just have to come up with something smart. I believe in you."

"Thanks. ...If he really does have feelings for me...then there might be a way, but it will be a leap of faith I'll have to trust."

"You can do this; I know you can."

"But just in case, I'm coming with you to face Sebastian." Thorn, who'd just found Dante and Elora, butted in.

Elora froze. "No. You're staying here; that's final." She quickly moved to leave.

"I don't think so." Elora could move pretty quickly for being blind but Thorn easily kept up with her.

Thorn suddenly found herself shoulder-to-barrel with a gun, Elora having relied on her ears to point the weapon in the general direction of the blonde. "If you don't leave, I will shoot you. I don't carry this gun around just for looks, you know. I've killed countless things with it, and I'm not scared to add you to the list. I don't want to do this, but if it keeps you safe, I'm willing to. And think about Dante - if you come with me your chances of living are much slimmer than mine, even with your strange power." Elora knew that Thorn could do something - she wasn't quite sure what though, although she could hear the rustling of greenery at times. Greenery...

"Well if you keep pointing that gun at me your chances of living are going down to zero. Besides, I'm not going to intervene unless its necessary. I'll probably just end up standing on the sidelines watching the whole thing."

"You can stay here." Elora growled, "I'm sure your little plant friends will tell you everything in great detail."

"Maybe... The demon has yet to make his move. I'll decide when he does." Thorn let the other go when she turned to leave.

Elora sighed and wandered to the music room, using the walls and furniture as guides. She carefully picked up a violin, feeling the weight to make sure that it was the right instrument, before returning to the waterfalls. "Better make my last moments worth something..."

...

"Are you all right, love?" Dante asked when he'd caught up to Thorn, who looked a little shaken.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Elora just doesn't want my help, and even threatened to shoot me if I tried to."

"I'm glad you're still safe though. She will be all right, you know." He added as Thorn smiled a little.

"I know." The blonde didn't want to say too much in case her plants told her something important about Sebastian and Elora and she missed it because she was talking.

"Keep me informed."

...

"Hey, I thought you would be here." Of course Sebastian would have come back once Elora was alone again.

"And I thought you'd be here sooner; getting slow, old man?" Elora huffed and started playing the violin.

"Perhaps." Sebastian sat and listened to the music.

"You seem weird today. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong; just keep playing."

"Whatever." The violin's notes began to crescendo to the climax.

"You know, don't you?"

Elora tried to avoid answering by humming the harmony to the piece until the valley was filled with melodious echoes, but Sebastian asked the question again.

"You know, don't you, Elora?"

"...Yes..."

"And?"

"I'm still trying to convince myself that it wouldn't be a sin to jump off of a cliff right now." The young woman laughed pathetically.

"You wouldn't do that - you're too proud. I am not doing this, Elora, I am not falling in love with a human; I refuse."

"Hmph... then I guess that makes us equal. I'm too proud to commit suicide and you're to haughty to admit that you have feelings for me."

"But I am going to solve that problem momentarily, aren't I, Elora?"

"Doesn't this go against your policy of making sure the soul is at its best when you eat it? Please, Sebastian, two years isn't that long - not for you, at least."

"I am not taking that risk; I don't want these feelings anymore."

Elora sat down and leaned in Sebastian's general direction as if her ruined eyes could see through the bandages covering them. "Why? Why do you hate such a felling? Is it because it makes you feel..._alive?_"

The demonic butler had a hand wrapped around her neck in an instant. "It's distracting!"

"F-rom what? ...who must...you win...such...respect...from? I...know this...is...no...longer for...your...master, bu-...but... for your...self..." Elora couldn't fight back - she could barely get enough air into her lungs to be able to speak.

"Cheryl. If you're still here, she won't be born."

"Enlighten...me..."

Sebastian shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I am going to take your soul now."

"You won't...even tell me why I...I must...die? Why won't this...Cheryl be...born? I should a...at least know what my cause is. ...W-Won't you grant a dying girl...'s wish...?"

"Because I can't love another when I have feelings for you. Cheryl is my daughter from the future." Sebastian let Elora fall to the ground.

"You're willing to take my child away from me for my life, but now that another woman has stepped onto the field you're willing to kill me for her child. Oh, the irony tastes bitter, like poison on your tongue."

"The child would have killed you."

"And that future child will kill its mother as well. If you're willing to let that happen, you would never have loved that mother in the first place."

"...I am done here." Sebastian left as quickly as he came.

...

"...Right now they're just talking. Sebastian said he can't fall in love; he simply won't allow it." Thorn spoke after a lengthy pause.

"Lovely guy, isn't he."

"Just darling." The statement was accompanied by an eye roll. "He just said he's going to solve his emotional problem now."

"...Now Elora's trying to reason with him to wait two more years."

"That won't happen."

Thorn sighed. "...Looks like Sebastian's not budging. He's gong to kill her if she doesn't think of something else... He's grabbing her neck now. You sure she'll be able to get out of this?"

"I don't know but it's best not to get involved now."

"Yeah. Now I'm glad I didn't get involved... Who's Cheryl?"

"Sebastian's daughter from the future."

"How is that even possible?" Thorn paused, her expression becoming unreadable. "Wait, he says he's going to take her soul now."

"How are demons possible? Things exist that are beyond even us."

"...Elora's trying to reason with him."

"I am going to interfere then; stay here."

"No promises."

...

"You lying, cheating, treacherous brat..." Saffi smirked at Sophia. "...actually, that's why I like you!"

"As a hunter, all that matters is the kill; everything else is baggage." Sophia quickly smiled a little when she saw Luka. "Hey kid."

"Heh... I guess that's how it is to the hunters... I also guess that if you take the killing responsibility nothing else mattes except you and the kill... I need to find Ivan again..."

"Hi Sophie!" Luka chirped.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. What are you doing?"

"I was hanging out with Saffi."

"Saffi?"

Saffi grinned without flashing her fangs and gave a little wave, but Luka was suddenly too shy to say hello to her.

"She's a vampire too." Sophia added. "Why are you recreating your offer to protect me? My blood must taste nice if a vampire is offering to protect a demon hunter who puts her life on the line all the time," she hissed lowly to Saffi while Luka was preoccupied.

"A vampire?" That sounded cool and scary at the same time. "Okay; it's nice to meet you!"

"Yes, I'm a vampire, sweetie - do you think I'm scary? I'm sorry if I'm scaring you. I don't enjoy it...that often, anyway." Saffi's eyes flicked toward Sophia. "In fact, it does...and I'm hungry again. My life is always on the line, and that's the way I like it cause I never get bored..."

"I'm scared but I don't think you'll hurt me."

"You are nice - no, I won't hurt you... I don't take lives, I drink from people. Not people as young as you, though, darling." Saffi smiled weakly when Luka giggled in response.

"Well then you're just going to have to wait then, aren't you?" Sophia huffed at the blue-haired girl but Saffi only grabbed a file and worked on her nails with it out of boredom - Luka had run over to Hannah.

"Can do, although, after I fulfill a second wish or help you, I'll be back for more... Also, I will not take your blood in front of other people like Luka - I don't intend to scare the poor child, unlike you."

Sophia nodded. "Understood."

"Just remember, I get in a bad mood when I get hungry..." The blue-haired girl pouted childishly at the floor.

...

"Hi Hannah!" Luka ran up to the demoness with a huge smile on his face. "Hannah?"

"Hello, darling! What's wrong?"

The boy giggled as he was picked up and hugged tightly. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, darling!"

"How've you been doing, Hannah? What have you been doing all day?"

"I've been...out...with Sophia...sorting things out."

Luka frowned. "You were fighting again."

"Hey, Luka, do you want to learn some fighting moves?" Sophia asked as she finished her conversation with Saffi, smirking at Hannah.

"Can I, Hannah?" Luka tried to copy a fighting stance that Sophia was showing him.

"Almost," the demon hunter straightened a leg and widened the space between his feet a little.

Saffi sat on the counter to get a clear view. "I can see him being a natural talent..."

"You can drink your fill if you wait." Sophia huffed, knowing exactly why the vampire was hanging around.

"Thanks, I'll wait...how long exactly?"

Ignoring Hannah and Luka for now, Sophia dragged her out of the room and unbuttoned her collar. "Hurry up."

"You know that wearing a white shirt wasn't a good idea, right?" The blue-haired vampire smirked sadistically before she sank her teeth into the demon hunter's neck.

Sophia winced in pain. "Try not to rip my windpipe out while you're there."

"Oh I'll try... It was very deep..." Saffi reluctantly closed the wound with her saliva and licked up the excess blood. "I've had my fill from that little drink - do you feel okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but if this continues I'm going to become anemic."

"I apologize; I take one meal a day at least, but Damien usually feeds me often from his own mouth so..." the vampire chucked, "I guess it'll be fine if I take from you twice a week then? And yes, there's such a thing as mouth-to-mouth blood-feeding!" the giggling escalated to the kind usually heard coming from giddy schoolgirls talking about their secret crushes.

"Once a day is fine if needed."

"I apologize for acting like a fangirl... Ahh, it's so hard to choose between your and Damien's blood... Ohh..."

"Lovely."

Saffi ignored her and jumped out a nearly window, off to find Ivan...and, hopefully, Damien.

...

"How about if we get some ice cream instead, Luka? Or would you rather go with...Sophia?"

"Ice cream?" The boy sprang up and bounced happily.

Hannah smiled a little. "Yes, we can go out... I know a pace just a minute's walk from here."

The boy giggled in excitement and grabbed her hand. "Okay, Hannah!"

The demoness laughed softly in response but kept eyeing Saffi and Sophia in the corner, making sure that Luka wouldn't see them.

"You all right, Hannah?"

Saying that the demoness was surprised was an understatement. "Yes, thank you... Okay, let's go!" She picked Luka up and walked to the ice cream parlor with him in her arms.

...

"What flavor?"

"Ummmm...I want...strawberry."

"All right. Can I have two strawberry ice creams, please?" Hannah asked the vendor. She handed an ice cream cone to Luka when she got them before licking her own.

...

"Are you all right?" Dante asked Elora.

"I might have bought myself some time, but..."

"But?"

"I don't know what to do... I don't even know if I have a choice in living..."

"You do. Maybe it's just that he has a lot on his plate; wait for him to cool off."

"Maybe..." Elora laid down, more tired than she'd been in a while.

"I wish I could do more to help you." A soft sound reached Dante's ears. "You can come in now."

Thorn walked into view and smirked. "She's alive. Well, then I'm not offering Elora any more of my help. She obviously doesn't want it."

Elora sighed at the blonde's statement. "It's probably for the best, too. I don't want anyone else dying because of me."

"You should tell Brin that - you're lucky she didn't decide to get involved."

"Then she's obviously the smarter out of you two."

Thorn glared at Elora. "I let him almost kill you, just like you wanted. Now shut your mouth or I'll be the one to end you, not Sebastian."

"Whatever. I need some sleep; this is too overwhelming for me. Goodnight everyone..." Elora quipped as she walked back to her room and closed the door.

"You think she'll survive tomorrow? I'm starting to hope that she doesn't." Thorn looked up at Dante.

"I hope not - her soul, it smells so good."

Thorn rolled her eyes. "That's right. She won't live for long even if she does get through tomorrow."

...

"Don't you think that Luka would be an excellent fighter? He's got such natural skills." Sophia asked Hannah when she returned.

The demoness licked her ice cream. "And there I was thinking that you were being nice... Hn... I don't think he has it in him to become cruel and a killer..."

"We'll see, if his life is on the line, I'm sure he would."

"Don't you even think about threatening his life!"

Sophia grunted and held her marked wrist as it started to throb. "It's not as if you actually care if he lives or dies."

"How could you say that?!"

"Easy with your words."

Hannah growled in frustration and made sure that Luka was oblivious to their conversation but Sophia grabbed her and pulled her close. "What were their last words, demon - my parents?"

The demoness only looked at the ground. She hadn't bothered to listen to the cries of any of the human she'd slaughtered and trying to lie her way out was only going to make the situation worse.

"Please understand, if Luka was killed you would do everything in your power to get revenge, or to try to understand."

Hannah's head snapped up when 'Luka' and 'killed' were uttered so close to each other. "YES I WOULD!" but her head dropped back down as she thought over her words, smiling bitterly.

"Then you can understand how I'm feeling."

"Heh... Don't even make me _try_ to understand..."

"See, I told you that you had no compassion whatsoever."

"Please, I just don't want to be able to understand."

"And this is why you make me so angry." Sophia noticed that Saffi had come back. "Let's go; she's irritating me too much."

Hannah didn't choose to reply, and left.

"Yep, I've been to see Damien!" Saffi's filled the silence as she jumped down from the windowsill and pretended to swoon. "He fed me! Soo, Sophia, what to do now then?" she hopped onto the counter, grinning widely.

"I don't know."

"Let's go kill that demon - Claude - spider blood..."

"I'm not in the mood."

Saffi flopped over onto the counter with a bored huff. "What do you want to do then, Sophia?"

"...Saffi, you don't think that demons can feel what humans feel, do you?"

"Possibly... I definitely feel 'em," the blue-haired girl faked another swoon at the thought of Damien, "but then again, I'm not a regular demon... They probably do, but it takes a significant event to jog a memory or to make them begin to feel love, pain, and all the other emotions that there are."

"Even if they can feel, it doesn't change the fact that they use us for our own souls. They must all be stopped; a demon is a demon, and a demon is a monster."

"I like the way you think... True, true..."

* * *

**A/N: **My apologies if chapter layout and dialogue becomes a little confusing. Those issues should clear themselves up since Lives Collide started in the middle of a plot.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Magdalena Saffi-Anne Marshall

Ruby of Raven

Snow Woman


	6. Chapter 6

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

"OMG, Alois!" Saffi glomped the blonde boy, who'd been quietly wandering the hallways looking for something to do.

"Who're you?!"

Saffi huggled him tighter. "I'm the delighted girl who has just seen you!"

"Let go of me!"

"Sorry... Meh...I saw you a long time ago, but you don't remember me." the blue-haired girl awkwardly slid off of Alois and sniffled a little.

"I really don't know who you are."

"You wouldn't... I watched over you for a young age... One hundred and nine, that was - being the bored vampire I was, I watched from a distance, only to make contact with you once... Meh... How sad..."

Alois huffed. "So you're a stalker."

"Noo...I'm a bored vampire, don't mix me with those fangirl things!" Saffi smiled. "I was just hoping that we could get along, although I would never become a stalker. Except for when it came to Damien, of course!" she giggled.

...

While Elora was sleeping, Dante carefully picked her up locked her inside a cell in the dungeon before leaving to do who-knew-what, so when Elora woke up she was all alone in a smelly, musty room.

"I've been caged in like and animal once again, oh joy." She muttered after sneezing.

"You're awake." Dante commented as he checked on her.

"Yeah, though this isn't really my ideal thought of a bedroom. What am I ding down here?"

"Sebastian doesn't want you anymore, so you're mine."

"I'm not so sure I believe that." Elora scooted away from where the demon's voice was coming from.

"Well believe it, my little one. Of course, it did take a bit of convincing on my part - even making him eat your soul took a lot of work."

Elora moved further away. "What are you talking about?"

"Haven't you figured it out by now? I orchestrated everything. I have enough dirt on everyone to do so."

"This doesn't make any sense! You're younger than Sebastian and his servant! How?!"

"I may be younger but I have more of a way with words than Sebastian, and having a few contracts doesn't hurt."

"Then this was your plan all along..." Elora jumped in surprise when her back hit a wall.

"You're catching on." Dante smirked.

"You did always say that I was smarter than you and Sebastian perceived."

"For a human, off course."

"I'm flattered."

"I'm glad."

Elora frowned. "So how long are you going to leave me here to rot?"

"For however long I like."

...

Nimbz snored quietly as she slept on a couch. "Get away," she mumbled softly.

"Hey," Mason said absentmindedly, not sure if she was awake or not.

Luka suddenly ran over and poked Nimbz until she woke up.

I said leave me alone..." the white-haired woman groaned.

"Hello, dear!" Queen Victoria checked to make sure that Nimbz was okay but the white-haired girl stood up quickly, eyes wide and arms wrapped around herself in fear.

Mason frowned a little. "You were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

Nimbz looked to the side out of what could have been embarrassment but sighed in relief. "I always do..." she nodded to Mason.

...

"Hannah? I thought you died?" Alois was confused - no, wait, confused was an understatement. This was worse than being glomped by his vampiric stalker.

"I am here because Claude and I managed to revive everyone... I apologize, master."

Alois was speechless for a moment. "How?!"

"Hannah!" the cry came from Luka, who ran to the demoness and kept her from answering the elder boy's question.

Alois wasn't able to look at his little brother. He couldn't believe what was going on and thought Luka would disappear if he did acknowledge him, and gritted his teeth angrily.

The younger boy noticed and hid behind Hannah in fear.

"Luka, darling!" Hannah scooped the boy up and held him close. "Shh, it's all right, sweetie, it's all right..."

"But big brother hates me..."

"Oh dear... Well, isn't it good that I don't have to follow his orders anymore, isn't it?" Hannah smiled.

Alois, now furious, turned away and left in a fit of rage.

Luka buried his face into Hannah's shoulder. "Brother..."

"I told you to stop calling me that! My brother died, abandoning me! You're not him!"

"But I am your brother! I didn't mean to leave you! I-I-I just wanted you to be happy! You're my big brother!"

"You abandoned me!"

"Don't cry dear!" Hannah moved Luka away just enough to wipe his eyes. "Alois, please..."

"Tell him, Hannah, tell him I'm his brother! Make him stop saying I'm not..." Luka took a shaky breath.

Alois ignored the others' pleas. "But it didn't stop you, did it?!"

"I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry!"

"Please, you're upsetting Luka-"

"Since when did you start taking orders from him - you obey me! Can't you see that I'm hurting too?!" Alois cut the demoness off.

I'm sorry, sweetie... What do you want me to do?"

Alois squirmed away when Hannah tried to pull him close. "Get rid of Luka; he isn't my brother. The brother I had died that day."

"I'm sorry, I can't - He's the real one. Claude and I brought him back."

"Then what good are you?!"

"I apologize, but I cannot harm Luka in any way."

"It's not fair! I want things the way they used to be!"

"I'm sorry... time has moved on..."

"But I was dead - how could I know that?!"

...

"Hey." Mason greeted Brin.

The dark-haired woman turned around. "Oh, hi. Have you seen Elora?"

"Sorry, no."

Brin frowned, then tried to smile a little. "Oh that's okay. Sorry, but who are you? I don't think I know your name, or if I did, I've forgotten it."

"My name is Mason."

"Well I'm Brin. Have you met Thorn too?" the dark-haired woman asked as she started toward the kitchen.

"No."

"Then perhaps you'd like to meet her." the dark-haired woman pointed out an attractive blonde snacking on an apple. "This is Thorn."

"Nice to meet you." Mason nodded to Thorn.

"Yeah, hi..." Thorn really wasn't sure what to think of Mason. "Do either of you know when dinner is? This apple isn't going to hold me over for long."

...

Sophia beckoned to Saffi. "Come; I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Let me get this straight - you have to follow what I say and in exchange you get my blood. Am I correct? You won't hesitate even if having to do what I say conflicts with your feelings?"

"Almost... As long as it doesn't conflict with any personal love or hate emotions, then you have it!"

"Explain more about things that would conflict with personal love or hate emotions then."

"Well...one I am sure of involves Damien and Ivan - you say what you have in mind for me and I'll tell you any other things you want to know."

Sophia didn't like how Saffi managed to dodge her question but decided to let her get away with it. "I've been doing some research on the people surrounding Luka and Hannah and noticed that Luka's brother Alois has gotten a lot of pent-up anger towards Luka and Hannah. He'd be a perfect tool to use. The best thing is that no matter what he does to Luka, Luka won't want Hannah to kill Alois."

"Ahh, good idea... I've watched Alois for a number of years when I was bored and young... I can't wait to be able to use him again so he'll release that anger on a demon. Ah, you have good ideas, and as long as you don't hurt him physically or emotionally too much, I'm okay with it."

"All right, so how much will this cost me then? I'm going to guess that your assistance won't be free."

Nope! It's free...only because I got your blood earlier though. I might require more tomorrow if you're sure you won't become anemic though."

"All right," Sophia smirked, "then let's get started."

"But how're we going to go about this new plan then?" Saffi suddenly asked.

"We're going to get Alois on his own."

"...All right then, watch this!" The blue-haired girl turned to Alois and grinned darkly before running at him. "YES, I'M YOUR ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD PEDO-STALKER AND YOU SHOULD FEAR MY WRATH!"

Needless to say, Alois ran like hell.

"Good enough?" Saffi wandered back to Sophia when she'd gotten tired of her game.

"I think you got a little too extreme."

"It worked at least...and I like my wild life, so I'm not bored. It most certainly was not extreme - want to see extreme?" Saffi chuckled. "Poor Alois..."

"I don't know, but he seems a little unstable for this plan. Perhaps I should think of another one."

"That's true, Sophia..."

"Well the call's yours then. Come up with some good ideas."

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

Baka-Hentai-Nina

CBI Writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Freedom of Creation

Magdalena Saffi-Anne Marshall

Ruby of Raven


	7. Chapter 7

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

"I have to tell you something - when Hannah and I were arguing, my wrist started to burn very badly. What's up with that?" Sophia asked Saffi the next time they ran into each other.

"...Damnit, that damn demon... She's marked you... Are you sure you want to hear what's happening?"

"But what does that mean for me?"

"You know, vampires like me make contracts but leave whenever they've had enough of the owner or when they've fulfilled the main goal, yes? Well she's linked her pain to you... This involves me because it affects your blood - it begins to boil in your wrist when you argue with her, and the only way to rid yourself of it all is to cut off your hand, or remove the mark and your skin... It's not pleasant."

"So can I feel what she feel, and vice versa?"

I know what you're thinking, but don't try hurting yourself. The only way to stop it is to kill Hannah or cut the mark off."

"Damn it, fine. I'll just have to bear it; a demon can't feel much so it wouldn't matter anyway." Sophia huffed.

...

"Hello." Sebastian greeted the young girl and the teenage boy sat on the lawn while they played with firecrackers.

The girl looked up at the newcomer. "Hi."

"You all right?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes - aah!" the girl jumped in surprise as a firecracker popped.

"Let me help."

"Otay." the girl nodded as the older boy lit another firecracker.

"They are very pretty." The demonic butler's comment earned a smile from the girl. "You are such a good kid."

"Really?"

"Of course."

The girl smiled more, forgetting that she was still holding a firecracker that was about to pop until Sebastian took it and threw it high into the air. "Oops, I forgot to throw it."

"Be more careful next time."

"Otay." the girl smiled as she took another firecracker form the older boy.

"Be careful with this one now."

"I will." This time the girl threw it before it popped.

"Good girl."

The girl in question smiled before turning to the older boy. "Can I light the next one?"

"No."

"I have to agree with Toni." Sebastian nodded as the boy's name came to him. They'd talked a little before but not for very long.

"Awww..."

"That's final."

"Otay then," the girl settled for throwing another firecracker instead. "Another one?"

"Sorry, they're all gone, Connie," Toni said.

...

"You okay, kid?" Sophia asked later when she saw how upset Luka looked. She got even more concerned when he wasn't able to reply.

"B... Big brother wants me dead..."

"He's just confused, that's all."

Luka rubbed his eyes to dry them, hoping that the demon hunter was telling the truth. "I didn't mean to die...I just wanted him to be happy..."

"It's not your fault that you died, it's not your fault that someone took your life away."

"Hannah didn't take it, I gave it to her."

"She didn't have to accept it."

"..."

"I'm sorry, Luka, I shouldn't act that way around you."

"Hannah is good - she'd never hurt me..."

"I know, kid. She won't hurt you." Sophia didn't say, _"But what about everyone else?"_

Luka smiled a little.

"Maybe it's best for me to go - Hannah and I simply don't get along."

"Don't go, Sophie. Pleease?"

"As long as your demon pet is here, I can't be here, especially after what she's done."

"Okay..."

"Don't look at me like that, kid." Even Sophia couldn't deny the cuteness of a pouting Luka for long, but he looked down at his feet before she ended up caving.

"What is it?"

Before Luka could reply, Hannah scooped him into a big hug, kissing his forehead. "What's wrong, darling?"

"I don't want to be dead again." the boy sniffled, a new problem already looming in his imagination.

"You won't end up dead again."

A little pinky was help up for a pinky swear. "Promise?"

"Promise." Hannah gently wrapped her pinky around his. "It's a sincere promise."

Luka hugged the demoness as tightly as he could and got his hair ruffled in return.

"So precious!" Penelope grinned when she caught sight of Luka. She'd been wandering the manor for a while and had been starting to question if anyone she'd met earlier was still around.

"Who is this, Luka?" Hannah held the boy in question protectively close to herself.

"A reaper. She thinks I'm a promotion."

The demoness considered this, then looked at Penelope.

Sophia, who was still standing nearby, spoke up next. "How do you think that Luka is a promotion?"

"No I don't!" Penelope hurriedly waved off Luka's comment, "I'm a reaper though; Penelope Lynx. And you are?" She looked between Hannah and Sophia.

Luka stayed silent, watching Hannah's reaction.

"Okay then..." Hannah looked back at the boy, not sure what else to say.

"Never mind, I know what you are," Pen sniffed and wrinkled her nose at the demoness.

Luka whimpered and shrank away from Penelope. "Mama..." He was too scared to call Hannah anything else.

"D'aawe~" Pen smiled at the sight until the boy fearfully pointed at her.

"Pointing at a woman, how rude!" the reaper huffed.

"Get rid of it first, get rid of the mark." Sophia butted in, glaring at Hannah. "And you're very amusing, reaper. You hate demons just as much as I do."

"Why should I?" Hannah asked the demon hunter.

"Because if you don't there's no telling what I'll do."

"Why don't I tell the boy why I am so mad at you, huh?" Sophia threatened the demoness.

Penelope glanced at Sophia. "What's it to you, if I may ask?"

"I'm a demon hunter."

"Sorry, but not too fond of those either." The reaper bluffed - she'd never met one before.

"How nice for you." Sophia's reply to Penelope was almost sarcastic.

"Hmm, let me think about it... Ohh, that's hard, but still a no." Hannah let Luka down and he ran behind her. "It's okay, Luka."

The demon hunter glared at Hannah even though she was addressing Luka. "You haven't seen what she is really like. She puts up a pretense around you, but if you want to hang around demons, you will eventually see all of their sides."

"Oh, did I do something to upset you, hunter? I'm sorry..." Hannah spit venom at Sophia while Luka wasn't looking.

"But Hannah is nice!" Luka peered out from behind the demoness he was talking about.

"Is she nice when she kills people too? What about when she ate your soul? Was she nice about that? Or how about when she burned my village with my parents in it to ashes?"

"I...don't really remember when she ate my soul... Crying...I heard crying..."

Hannah's eyes widened. "Don't think about that now!"

"Forget it, it's pointless trying to explain things to a child." Sophia huffed. "Come on, demon, show Luka what you're really like."

"I refuse."

"Hannah, what's she talking about?" Luka quietly queried.

"Don't bother with them, Luka. Come here and let them settle their differences." Penelope grinned, her sudden comment causing Luka to yelp and hide behind Hannah again.

...

"Hi, are you all right?" Dante caught sight of Penelope - who knew what he thought of the random reaper smiling like an idiot.

"...Yes."

"That's good."

Penelope gave the demon an almost suspicious glance before returning to the task of getting her hands on Luka, meaning that she patiently waited on the sidelines.

It didn't take long for the others to forget that Penelope was there.

...

"She's referring to my true form, Luka...I don't want you to remember it - the time that I became snakelike - though."

"...Show me. I won't get scared this time."

"No."

"Coward." Sophia spat at Hannah. "Luka, she burned my village to the ground, that village we went to see. It was my village too."

"But I told Hannah to burn it." The boy tilted his head, not sure what Sophia's point was.

The demoness looked down. "...I did..."

Now the demon hunter was getting frustrated. "But it's her fault for even showing up in the fist place, and her fault for actually going with the order."

"It wasn't your fault, Hannah...it's mine," Luka sighed.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid it is...all my fault..."

"But I told you to!"

"Yo!" Saafi chose that moment to walk into the room, then perch on a counter.

"Hi," Sophia replied to the new arrival. "You're a kid, Luka, you don't know any better."

"I heard heated discussion (a.k.a. arguing) so I thought I'd see what's happening. S'up, Luka?"

"Hi," the boy looked at the blue-haired girl for a moment before turning back to Sophia. "But... But..."

"No buts, its Hannah's fault and that's final."

"Mmm..."

Saffi sighed, irritated. "Damnit... I was looking forward to destroying a demon or something...I need a workout after my long feed..."

"Can we get that in writing too, demon?" the demon hunter asked Hannah?

"Apologies, but no..."

Luka looked up at the demoness sadly. "Hannah..."

"I'm sorry, darling... Would you still love me if I told you that Sophia was right?"

"I love you no matter what."

"That's good to hear, sweetie!" Hannah picked Luka up and cuddled him.

Sophai shook her head at the others' exchange. "You're beyond clueless."

"And I'm getting bored," Saffi added.

"You do realize this fighting is going to continue until I get my revenge, don't you?"

"I know perfectly well that it will continue."

"And I'm not dumb!" Luka suddenly shouted as he snuggled against Hannah, and I won't let you hurt her!"

"Yes you are. Stay out of this, kid."

The boy stuck out his tongue childishly.

"Don't get yourself involved, please." Hannah gently chastised Luka.

Sophia sneered. "But since you're not in a contract anymore, you're weaker and easier to take care of. ...You wouldn't possibly have the kid sell his soul again to get you stronger, would you?"

The demoness glared at the other woman.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, Hannah."

"Luka, please!"

"Yes, Hannah?"

The demoness fell to her knees. "Please...don't get yourself involved... She doesn't care about you - she'll kill you! Run, _now!_"

Luka took one last look at her and Sophia before running away.

"Yo, is it all starting now or what?" Saffi asked while she filed her nails.

"Yes, " Sophia grinned as she watched Hannah's human form take on more viperlike qualities.

The demoness hissed and let her claws out, spitting poison warningly. "Ready, hunter?"

The hunter in question brought out her knife.

"Hmm, things are getting interesting! Want me to join, Soph?"

"Sure."

"Right!" Saffi hopped off of the counter and swapped the nail file for an epic ninja pose. "I'm ready!"

Hannah hissed. There was no way to avoid this fight, but at least she'd gotten Luka out of harm's way.

* * *

**A/N:** Do you want Lives Collide to catch up to the current roleplay faster? Volunteer to copy posts and send them to me - even a couple of pages will make a big difference. PM me if interested.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Lady Mizu

Magdalena Saffi-Anne Marshall

SteelPorcelainMXIV


	8. Chapter 8

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

Queen Victoria walked into a room. "Hey guys!"

Sebastian looked up. "Would you mind babysitting Connie?"

"Of course not! Now...who is Connie?"

"My daughter."

"I thought Cheryl was your daughter though."

"I have two daughters."

"Oh hello there!" the Queen suddenly turned and waved back at Connie, who was suddenly too shy to say anything. "Do you want some candy?"

"Yes!"

"Isn't it getting a little late for candy, Connie?" Sebastian asked as he saw the girl try to hide a yawn.

"I guess..."

The demonic butler chuckled and picked the girl up when she reached for him, letting the Queen that he would put Connie to bed before taking the girl to her room and tucking her in.

Connie snuggled into the covers and closed her eyes.

"Night."

"Night night."

Connie slept well for a time, but then the nightmares started.

"Wake up, you're having a nightmare," Sebastian gently shook her, then hugged the girl when she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, digging her face into his coat.

...

"You get the kid, I'll deal with the demon." Sophia frowned at Saffi before running at Hannah and slicing an arm off. "Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." She sneered at Hannah.

"AH!" The demoness clutched her severed arm close before slicing Sophia's foot to the bone with her claws. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU SADISTIC MORON!"

"Alright! But I'm going to miss the fight...ah well..." Saffi jumped out of the ninja pose and ran in the direction that she'd seen Luka take. Once she was downstairs, she couldn't help but add, "OH MAH GOD! IT'S GONNA HURT YOU LOTS, SOPHIA!"

Sophia didn't reply but concentrated on slicing Hannah's other arm off before she collapsed, unconscious, from the pain in her foot.

Hannah would have ended the fight there but she was too weak from blood loss to do anything besides fall to the floor as well. "Damnit! I'm nothing like Sebastian!"

...

"Luka! Where are you, sweetie?"

Luka ran into England's ruler as he tried to get away from Hannah, Saffi, and Sophia, falling backward. "Oomph!"

"Are you all right, dear?"

The boy turned when he heard Saffi. "Sorry, sissy."

"Uh, Luka? Where are you going?" Victoria asked.

"Hannah said to run; she and Sophia are fighting!" Luka went back to running, knowing that his life really did depend on it.

"Wait up!"

But Luka was too scared to slow down. Victoria did her best to keep track of him but quickly got lost.

"...I wonder where I am now..." She asked herself as she turned around and tried to find her way back to the manor.

...

Sophia was still unconscious when Saffi returned.

"Sophia? Where are you? OMG..." The blue-haired girl quickly pulled Sophia into another room, ignoring Hannah entirely. "Here."

Sophia managed to drink a little blood from Saffi's cut wrist.

"It'll make you stronger," Saffi assured her as she used her own saliva to heal the demon hunter's ankle. Hopefully she hadn't arrived too late and the human would live.

...

"Candy?" Connie immediately queried when she saw Queen Victoria again.

"Do you still want some?"

"Yes!"

"Well here you go then."

Connie happily took the candy. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. How old are you, by the way?"

"Four."

"Wow, you're a big girl, aren't you?!"

"Yep!"

"Is there anything you want to do?"

"Hmm..." Connie thought about her answer. "What's it like being a queen?"

"It's fun sometimes, but serious at others." _ "And it's even more fun when I can play pranks on my guards,"_ the Queen thought to herself.

"Then I wish I was a queen."

"Maybe when you get older, I will let you be queen for a day?"

Connie giggled at the thought. "Otay!"

"Want to go to the park in the meantime?"

"Sure!"

Queen Victoria, now that she'd gotten her bearings, easily guided the girl to the park. "Look! There's a puppy!"

"Puppy!" Connie parroted as she ran over and petted the dog. Queen Victoria followed and did the same when she was done.

"Do you want a puppy? I bet your dad will love one."

"Daddy doesn't like dogs."

"Exactly! That's why we should get you a dog, so he can learn to love them!"

"Ohh otay!"

"What kind of dog should we get? A lab, a poodle, shepherd, greyhound, great dane?"

"Um, how about that one?" The girl pointed out a fluffy grey miniature poodle walking with its owner nearby.

"Okay then!" Victoria took Connie to a pet store, where they found a poodle that was almost identical to the on in the park. "What will you name it?"

"Um..."

"How about...Perro!"

"Perro?"

"It's Spanish for dog!"

Connie smiled a little. "I don't know Spanish though, so I'll call him Mr. Fuzzy."

"That's a cute name!"

"Thank you."

Victoria made sure that they'd be able to pick the dog up when they were done shopping. "Now let's go get some food and dog bowls!"

"Okie dokie!"

Connie was a big help when it came to picking out accessories for her new pet and putting them in the shopping cart.

"is there anything else you want for Mr. Fluffy?" Victoria asked after they'd gathered all of the essentials.

"Dog treats and squeaky toys!"

"Okay!"

Yay!" the girl giggled as she ran to the appropriate isle.

"You're so cute!"

Connie giggled even more as she came back with a bag of treats and several toys.

"Time to go home then, if that's all!"

"I can't wait 'til Daddy meets Mr. Fuzzy!"

"Don't worry, he'll love it! Be sure to tell him I was the one who got him for you - that way he can be happy!"

"Okie dokie!" Connie chirped as they finally picked up Mr. Fuzzy and took him home.

...

After a couple of hours, Luka decided that he was tired of running and started to retrace his steps back to the manor. "Hello?"

"Luka! I was so worried!" Queen Victoria, who'd returned from her shopping trip with Connie not long before his arrival, stood up to greet him.

"Sissy, is everything okay now?"

"It's okay now, don't worry."

Luka sighed in relief and walked over to her, glancing at Connie and he dog for a moment until the Queen picked him up. "Do you want to show Mr. Fuzzy to Luka?" Victoria asked Connie.

"Sure! Wanna meet my new puppy!?" the girl smiled at Luka.

"Yes!"

Connie held Mr. Fuzzy up for the other to pet for a little bit and Luka happily pet the dog's head. "I think he likes you."

"I like him too!"

Mr. Fuzzy licked Luka's hand.

"Silly puppy!"

Mr. Fuzzy yipped happily, making Connie think that he'd rather play with Luka than with her.

"So how's my little prince been?" Victoria asked Luka.

The boy stopped petting the poodle. "I'm good; how're you, sissy?"

"I'm really good! Thanks for asking! Do y'all want to take Mr. Fuzzy outside to play in the garden?"

"Otay!"

When Luka made no objection, Victoria carried him outside while Connie walked ahead of them with Mr. Fluffy. She set the boy down and watched him draw in the dirt with a stick for a couple of minutes before finding a chair to sit down in. "What're you drawing, brother?"

"A Flower."

"It's pretty; you're good!"

Connie wandered over when she heard them talking. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm drawing a flower."

"It's pretty."

"Thanks. Do you want to draw with me?"

"Sure!" Connie grabbed a stick and started to doodle in the dirt with it.

Queen Victoria smiled. "What are you going to draw now?"

"Um... a butterfly." Luka started drawing it above the flower.

...

"My poor viscount..." Lillian murmured to herself as she gently stroked Aliester's hair as he slept. She kept waiting for him to stir, to wake, but he remained comatose, as he'd been for several days now, but she would stay with him until he either opened his eyes once again or withered away. "What did they do to you?

"They will pay for hurting my precious Aliester..." Thorns sprouted from Lillian's pigtails as her anger grew.

...

"Shouldn't you be running your country?" Sebastian asked Queen Victoria later.

"I've done everything on my list today, and I like to visit here - it's always so lively!" the older woman smiled. "By the way, who is Connie's mother?"

Sebastian didn't reply. Maybe he didn't know or care to remember, or was protecting the woman's identity for some reason.

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Kailin Greyv

Lady Mizu

Magdalena Saffi-Anne Marshall

SebbyXCiel4eternity


	9. Chapter 9

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

Cheryl was sitting in a tree so it would be harder for passers-by to break her out of her thoughts.

"Hello."

Well, there was one voice that would always get her attention. "Hey dad," Cheryl jumped down from the tree and dusted herself off a little.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking. I heard you wanted to take Elora's soul and I think I also heard you mentioning me. That and me killing her..." she glanced down but tried to look like she didn't care about how the demonic butler would react. "If you didn't have feelings for her, well...I wouldn't kill her...I just wouldn't exist... You could always impregnate mom so I could exist."

"A demon can't have feelings like that, Cheryl. It's just not right."

"What about mom then?"

Sebastian sighed. "That is where I'm so confused."

"But it's okay for demons to have feelings for other demons?"

"Yes."

"Good, because mom eventually got turned into a demon."

"I do not know what to do about Elora though."

"Me either...but I wouldn't kill her, even if it meant that I didn't exist. I suggest that we wait for her soul to mature." Cheryl leaned against a tree and conjured a ball of blue flame in her hand.

...

Luka grinned at Cheryl, still looking a little ragged because of his running away from Sophia and Hannah's fight. "Hi!"

"OMG! Luka! Are you okay?!" The older girl quickly rushed over to him but held him gently, checking for damage while the boy was caught in a sudden daze. "What happened, sweetie?"

"...Hannah? ...Sophia?"

"They're not here."

Luka relaxed and started to smile again as Cheryl gently hugged him. "What are you doing out here, Cher?"

"I was just talking to dad."

"I met his other daughter last night. Sissy got her a dog!"

"Yeah...I've heard of Connie. How's Victoria?"

"Sissy is good!" Luka smiled.

Elora, who'd heard the other voices near the spot where she was resting, made her way over to investigate the voice that didn't belong to any of the women she already knew. "Who are you?"

"You might not want to know." Cheryl replied. She was pretty sure that the newcomer was Elora, and she wouldn't appreciate the fact that she was talking to Sebastian's daughter.

Luka's brow furrowed in confusion at the older women's interactions but he left once Cheryl put him down.

Elora wasn't sure how to respond. "No, you seem familiar..."

"We've met before." Cheryl checked on Luka. "You okay?"

"When? My memory is still cloudy."

"Sebastian mentioned me once or twice."

"I'm okay." Luka giggled when Cheryl picked him up and snuggled him.

Elora's eyebrows rose a bit. "Are you the one telling him that you'll die if he doesn't kill me?"

"Technically, I just won't exist. I managed to convince...dad not to kill you." Cheryl cringed at how bad that sounded.

"Who told you that you wouldn't exist? In truth you should be fine - that's not how time works..."

"It'll mean dad won't marry mom, thus, I won't exist."

"Do you know who your mother is?" Elora reached out in front of her until she could run her fingers over Cheryl's face. Fortunately the other knew that it was Elora's way of 'seeing' her and didn't pull away.

Ciel..."

"What?! But Ciel's a man!"

"Actually, he's a girl trapped in a male version of himself." ...Well, that was also pretty embarrassing to say.

"How the hell did he birth you?!"

"She was born as a girl, but after she got caught by those people, they cast a spell on her to trap her in a boy's body. Then she met dad and you know the rest."

"How are you still alive if I'm not dead...does Sebastian know who your mother is? I think he should know before he kills me."

"He knows, and I told him not to kill you. I'm here now because I'm from the future."

"I know that...but what you're saying isn't matching up. Unless there was some terrible accident, I should have lived for two more years, yet you were still born. While time remained unaltered, you were still born, but now that you've altered Sebastian's judgment...who knows what you've done..."

"I come from two centuries from now - in this time I'm not even born yet!"

"And I die in two years. You shouldn't be worried at all."

Cheryl rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I guess I'm just worried." She conjured a rose pendant and hung it around the other's neck. "Here, it's a necklace with a rose pendant; think of it as a little gift."

"Elora. And Cheryl." Sebastian greeted the pair as he joined them.

"Hello father."

"What are you doing?"

"Talking to Ms. Elora."

"Don't bother her."

"Dad, its okay."

"It's fine. I just wanted to know why I was going to die, though it seems now that my death will be more than pointless." Elora cut in with a sigh.

"I am sorry. Be nice though." The demonic butler warned.

"Yes dad."

Elora wasn't going to quietly obey though. "For what? Suddenly trying to kill me for a daughter who is born by an apparent morphodite two centuries into the future?"

"For everything." Sebastian clarified as he ruffled Cheryl's hair.

"You're forgiven. Besides, right now you're not my main concern..."

"I know; give me time and I swear that I will work something out."

Cheryl huffed, smacking herself hard enough on the head that her fox ears and tail popped out. "Whatever...just don't fight or anything..." she fully transformed into her kitsune form and paced restlessly.

"Whatever." Elora muttered before wandering off to take a nap.

...

"Hey kid," Sophia greeted Luka when she caught sight of him.

"...Hi..."

"What's wrong?"

"...I ran."

"I would have hurt you, but I don't hurt humans. You're perfectly safe, Luka."

"Promise?"

"You have my word."

Luka giggled. "Okay then!"

"Please don't think badly of me, Luka." Sophia had doubts on how sincere the boy's words were. "I'm only doing my job. I don't mean to cause you

pain and suffering..."

"I don't think you're bad..."

"That's my good boy; let's keep it like that, shall we?"

"Okay!"

"So do you want to go to the park?"

"Park?! Okay, Sophie!"

"Come on, I'll race you."

Luka was off, and kept a fairly good pace. "I'm gonna win!"

He did too. Sophia let him, but neither of them were taking the race seriously to begin with.

"Yay! I win, I win!"

"You're very fast, kid."

"I am very fast!"

Sophia smiled. The kid in question was too adorable.

"Let's play, Sophie!"

"Okay." The demon hunter waited until Luka had picked out a swing and sat down before starting to push him. "You all right up there?"

"Higher, Sophie, higher!"

Sophie obliged but Luka ended up falling off of the swing and landing on the ground hard enough to scrape his hands and knees. "Uwaah!"

That wasn't the only injury the boy had.

"Oh God, I'm pretty sure your leg isn't supposed to bend that way," Sophia commented without thinking.

"It hurts, Sophie!" Luka whimpered before passing out from the pain.

...

Dante caught sight of Cheryl after she'd changed back to her human form. "Hey."

"Hello Daniel."

"What are you doing?"

"I was talking to my father and Ms. Elora." Cheryl replied as she followed her father to the dungeon and sat beside him, smiling to herself.

...

Sebastian watched Elora return to her cell in the dungeon (he'd locked her room in such a way that he was the only one who could open it) and waited for her to fall asleep before sitting next to her and gently resting her head on his shoulder. "I promise not to let anything happen to you," he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her. "Cheryl, are you okay with this for a while? It doesn't mean that I won't fall in love with your mother." He then asked the young woman sitting beside him.

Cheryl snuggled against the demonic butler. "Yeah, I don't mind," she laughed a little. "I love you, dad."

"We could be your temporary family for a while. It would be good for you."

"I'm okay with that...I miss mom anyways." Cheryl took a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it, showing her father the picture of their family on the inside. "I drew this to keep me company... It sure does help."

"I wish there was something that I could do to help you get back to your own time."

"I don't mind. As long as you and mom are around...I'll eventually go back, but there are things that I have to do first. Besides, I want to get to know mom and you a little better," she smiled.

"I am happy to answer any questions that you may have."

Elora stirred suddenly. "No...no...no! The fire - stop the fire! Samara!"

"Wake up, you're having a nightmare."

The blind woman did wake up - with a scream. "Samara!"

"It's okay, you were only having a nightmare."

"...Uggh, thank God..."

"I'll ask another time. You okay, Elora?" Cheryl questioned.

"Far from..."

Cheryl conjured a flute and started to play but Elora waved her silent. "I don't want to hear any noise right now...the screams are still fresh in my mind. All I want is to be left alone and some silence."

"Okay." Cheryl nodded. "I'm going to go for a bit; see you two around."

"Goodbye Cheryl."

...

Thorn was once again in the kitchen looking for something to eat.

"Hello beautiful."

"Oh hey, Dante." the blonde said as she turned and saw who was talking to her.

"What are you doing?"

Looking for something to eat. Why? What did you think I was doing?" An eye roll accompanied the comment.

"I could make you something to eat if you wanted."

Thorn closed the cabinet that she was peering into. "I don't cook, so that would be great."

Dante obliged and quickly got to work.

"What are you making me?"

"Ice cream."

The blonde smiled. "How did you know I liked ice cream?"

"I know you have a sweet tooth."

"Doesn't every girl?"

"True." Dante chuckled a little.

"If you had chocolate sauce for it, I'd be in heaven."

Dante added chocolate sauce.

"Now we're talking!"

Dante chuckled more as his lover grabbed the bowl of ice cream and dug in. "Does it taste nice?"

"Of course it does, it's ice cream with chocolate sauce on it. How can it not taste good?"

"To a demon, food is unpleasant at best."

"You're missing out then," Thorn ate another bite of her ice cream.

"Perhaps."

"No 'perhaps' about it; you're missing out."

_"Surely it can't taste that good,"_ the demon thought to himself, then saw Thorn suggestively lick the spoon and grinned.

...

"Are you all right?" Sebastian asked Elora once Cheryl had left.

"Yeah...I'm fine."

"If you're sure, stay still. I want to do something."

"Fine..." Elora sat up but held still since she wasn't sure what the demonic butler was going to do. She felt his hands brush over the spot on her neck where he'd marked her, but nothing else. He must have taken off the contract seal - her hand didn't feel any sign of it when she warily touched her neck.

"You won't have any more pain now."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"That's not a reason! I'm free game for everyone now!"

"No you won't, because I will protect you...that is, if you still want me to. I cannot explain why, but I just feel like you should have some sort of life."

"Whatever...this is too much for me to process...I'm going for a walk." Elora forced herself to get up and walked back down to her waterfalls.

"All right, I will be here when you get back."

...

Claude stepped out of the shadows, keeping an eye on Sebastian. "So, Michaelis, this is how the Phantomhives conduct business? By running around mindlessly?" He chuckled dryly.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. I've lost sight of my young master so I'm taking a needed break. Is your young master around?"

"He is not here; now leave."

"So cold towards a fellow fiend of hell."

"Because you always steal what is mine."

"If I recall, I stole nothing from you. Or are you just jealous?"

Sebastian frowned. "I am not jealous. How do you explain that you were trying to steal Ciel away from me?"

Claude's golden eyes glimmered as the very corner of his mouth twitched upward in what could have been a smirk.

...

After resting for a while, Elora got up and stepped into a shallow pool of water, kicking the liquid up suddenly as she started to dance and sing the words that went with her routine.

"There you are."

The blind woman suddenly stopped even though she could tell that it was only Brin who'd seen her. "What?"

"I couldn't find you in your room."

"Oh, well, what is it that you need?"

"Nothing. Can't two girl friends just talk?"

Elora shrugged. "What do you want to talk about then?"

"Anything and everything."

"I'm not very good at starting conversations."

"Neither am I." Brin thought for a moment. "Um... Do you want to know what my boyfriend's last crazy invention was?"

"Shoot."

"Okay, his last crazy invention was the one that made it rain chocolate, but he ran out of chocolate, so..." Brin burst out laughing.

Elora laughed with her. "This probably isn't right, but... SHIT!"

"Yes! He buried the city under piles of SHIT! Ha!"

"Is he the one who caused global warming with that?"

"Yup, that's him."

He might kill us all with that then, you know..." Elora stopped laughing a little.

"I guess... Anyway, what are you and Sebastian up to?"

"Imagine a bickering couple with one of them also being really depressed."

Brin chuckled a little to lighten the mood. "Lovely."

"But it does get annoying after a while."

...

Once Sebastian got tired of waiting, he went to find Elora. Needless to say, this was easy to do.

"Are you finished thinking? You've been here a good four hours."

Four hours? Maybe she'd gotten a little too into enjoying herself, and a little too into the conversation with Brin, which had ended a while ago. "Do you need something?"

"No."

"Then are you here to stalk me?"

"No, I came here because I was worried."

"What's wrong with you? You're so mopey it's depressing. Seriously, is it because you aren't eating?"

The demonic butler huffed and turned to leave. "Forget it; this is pointless."

"Get over here! If you're hungry, I don't mind!"

Sebastian stopped as he felt a hand clasp around his arm. "Why do you care if I am hungry or not? You're free now, so go live your life. You don't have to be concerned about me anymore."

"But it pisses me off seeing you running around moping and whatnot! How are you supped to get anything done when all you can do is sigh and be compliant? That's not the demon who forced me to get engaged to him. You started this mess and you bet your ass that you're going to see it through the end with your head held high. How are you going to earn anyone's respect the way you are? Gosh, I'm more scared of Dante than you."

"Look, human, I do not mope - you are confusing the hell out of me. When my head is clear, you will be mine again. There are other ways of showing everyone that you are mine. Do you know how pathetic it is, that you come crying to me when you're in pain? If you're going to be engaged to me, I would rather you not whimper in pain when you are hurting. Can you imagine how that would look to other demons? You either have my mark or no mark; got that, human?"

"As long as you're not always dragging your feet around everywhere you go. It really does get annoying after so long."

"I could say the same about you. Don't get used to freedom for too long."

Claude decided to troll by playing a sad violin tune in the background.

"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you!" Elora growled just as Sebastian said, "Do not make me hurt you."

The golden-eyed demon put down the violin only to retrieve a couple handfuls of golden knives and forks. "After you..."

Sebastian gritted his teeth and pulled some of the brilliant silver Phantomhive cutlery out of thin air.

Elora sighed, the sound of high-end silverware clicking together being one that was very familiar to her. "Is it suddenly a trend to now carry knives and forks everywhere you go?"

"I do; he is annoying."

"Of course, my Lady, what kind of Trancy butler would I be otherwise?"

The blind woman sighed. "Don't fight if you don't have a good reason to, seriously. And if you do end up fighting, just don't ruin the area, okay?"

"Fine." Sebastian sighed.

"Thanks. Now, if you'd excise me..." Elora turned to leave and ran smack into something broad and sturdy but a little padded. After a little inspection she realized it had to be Claude. With a huff, she went around him, muttering something about "stupid, soundless, corpses."

Claude smirked internally. _"She smelled rather nice." _

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Karshiva

Ruby of Raven

TheSilentNeko

Snow Woman


	10. Chapter 10

**Warnings, Disclaimers, **and _Special Notes_ - refer to those at the top of Chapter 1.

* * *

"Now, where were we...ah, there we are..." Saffi cleaned Sophia's wound and closed it with her tongue. "You're hurt badly... Shouldn't have started on Hannah, eh?"

"It was worth it to make Hannah armless, although I didn't expect the pain to be so bad."

Saffi smirked. "I guess you haven't gotten any limbs severed before then? Anyway, an armless demon is still a live one..."

"I know."

"Aren't you worried...because you drank my blood?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to become a vampire now, am I? It's not going to affect me, is it?"

"No...it was worth it to see you unsettled though. The only way you'd become one of us is for you to drink it after biting my skin yourself."

"Go to hell; if I become one of you then I would go insane."

"That's why I have no wish of turning you - you're amusing enough as you are..."

Sophia huffed. "I'm so glad that I provide you with entertainment."

"And I'm glad you're still alive. And so glad I made the contract... Yes, you'd definitely be dead without me."

"I guess. Now do you want your fill now or later?" "Mm, I think I'll take it in just a minute..." Saffi licked her lips, showing her fangs.

"Were you born this way or were you turned? As in being a vampire all the time, or were you human once?"

"I was turned when I was three... One hundred and fourteen in vampire years, and eleven in human years..."

"I see..."

"When I was one hundred and nine, I woke up in a unfamiliar village, and with no sign of my creator nearby. I met a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child - he was nice - but I only made contact with him once even though I watched him for much longer. After a fire destroyed the village, I found a manor and came to reside in it...came to reside here. I was fed by the Goth-emo donors of the city; they would beg for me to take from them at times... Although...your blood is much better..."

"I really don't understand why my blood is better through."

Saffi shrugged." I honestly don't know. I've only drank two other people's blood before that are like yours, and I've ended up killing them because I was pissed off and bored - they both were hunters, and had some connections to a big, historic event - like a relative surviving the Great Fire of London even though they were in the city when it burned - or a future event... Hey, I'm hungry. Is that Claude I smell?"

"I don't know."

"I'll check later then.

"Anyway, I guess I must've been really annoyed to kill them though... You might play a big part in the near future if nothing else has happened just yet..."

Sophia followed the blue-haired girl as she wandered off, most likely looking for Claude.

...

"You're Claude, right?" Dante asked the golden-eyed demon, who straightened up and bowed when he was acknowledged.

"Yes sir. Claude Faustus at your service."

Dante nodded. "My name is Dante. ...Well, Claude, what do you think of Sebastian?"

"I could care less about him. I guess you could also say that I hate him." Dante seemed like he would share the golden-eyed demon's opinion of Ciel Phantomhive's butler.

"All right."

...

"Hey, demon lover."

Thorn looked up and glared at Sophia, one of the people she'd rather not see. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think that I want anything?"

"Nothing." Thorn shrugged.

"You're nervous though."

"Nervous of what, you? Ha! Don't make me laugh."

"Yes, me."

"Believe whatever you want."

"I will."

Thorn only glared at the demon hunter.

"I'm going to kill your boyfriend today."

Thorn smirked. "Good luck with that."

"Just letting you know so you can break up with him anytime."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome."

Thorn glared more. "Now that you've told me all this, I guess you have no reason to still be here...so scram!"

Her job being done, Sophia complied and left.

...

Elora walked into the kitchen wondering if there was any cherry pie left and grinning in excitement at the thought.

"Hello." A voice that she recognized as Dante's asked. It still made her jump a little though.

"Oh, hey. Is there any cherry pie left?"

"I don't know."

"Then you're of no help to me." Elora started rooting through the fridge, quietly humming to herself as she did so.

Dante regarded her for a few moments. "So he took the mark off of you. Well, that's a perfect invitation for me, don't you think so?"

"No. He said that there was another way that he had his 'mark' on me. I don't know what he means, but I believe him. Besides, I wouldn't try to pull anything stupid; I'm also not afraid to use the Cross on you."

"I am so frightened of a human, but as of this moment you are not his. I can, therefore, do whatever I like."

Elora straightened up even more. "I can still protect myself. One misstep and I will exorcise you."

"That's nice for you."

"It's what I tend to excel in." Elora smirked even as Dante moved closer but backed away a little while grabbing at the cross in her pocket. "This is your last chance, Dante."

"If you bring that out, there will be consequences."

"You wouldn't be able to do anything."

Claude, who had remained silent the entire time, watched the pair in amusement as Dante grabbed Elora's arms and kissed her while taking a photograph of it.

"There we go, I wonder what Sebastian will say when I show him time."

"The hell, man! I'm telling Thorn, you little two-timer!"

"I didn't cheat on you, I am merely getting blackmail, that's all."

"I don't think she'll see it that way!" Elora pulled away and, after reorienting herself, ran from the room. "Thorn! Thorn! I've got something to tell you!"

Fortunately Thorn wasn't too far away. "What are you screaming about?"

"Dante...he...forced a...kiss...on...me... He's cheating...on you... I really hate running, yet I'm good at it..." Elora dropped to her knees. Having to focus on listening to her footsteps so she wouldn't run into walls was tiring.

"WHAT?!" Thorn pulled the blind woman up by the front of her shirt. "You better not be lying to me!"

"I'm not! I wouldn't lie about this!"

Dante chose that moment to arrive on the scene. "Thorn, she is taking this way out of context. I didn't cheat on you, Sebastian set her free and I was merely trying to take her soul away."

"And you kissed me!" Elora screeched.

"To try and steal your soul."

"Damn it!" Thorn dropped Elora and rounded on her lover. "Through a freaking kiss!?"

"That's how it works; what? Did you expect me to just grab it? Trust me, it's not fun when you're taking away a human's soul."

Thorn continued to glare at Dante.

"Still! Now give me that photo!" Elora had managed to figure out about where Dante was standing and lunged at the demon.

"I haven't cheated on you, Thorn," Dante moved away from Elora and closer to the blonde, "no way."

"...We'll talk about this later."

...

"Hey Claude-y, can I have some more of your blood?" The blue-haired girl gave the golden-eyed demon huge puppy-dog eyes while licking her lips.

The small but seductive smirk that appeared on Claude's face could have easily been a trick of the light, but the brilliant red glow of his eyes wasn't. "Just _don't _be gentle."

"Of course I won't be! You didn't think I would be, right?" Saffi smirked back as he eyes started to glow vermillion. "Sophia, tell him how strong my bite is..."

"Her bite really does hurt," the demon hunter verified, a bit miffed that she'd allowed Saffi to see her in pain when she was bitten earlier.

"See? I really don't..." Saffi leaned into Claude and pulled him down so she could take in his scent, "...enjoy being gentle. Sophia, I won't need any more feeding for today unless Claude doesn't give me enough."

"Of course not, my Lady," Claude allowed her to open his collar and expose his neck, concentrating on keeping his cool as Saffi tried to make him uncomfortable by lightly breathing on his neck. "Well, go on, or are you scared of my demonic blood?"

"I'm waiting - Sophia is so easy to wind up. It's not like I haven't drank from you, or any other demon, before...so steady yourself... Your blood is so tempting, so divine, that I might have to..."

"I'm going to be sick, you chewing on a demon." Sophia shuddered.

Saffi grinned at the demon hunter, still with her now-elongated fangs an inch away from the golden-eyed demon's neck. "I know... Just try not to puke..." The blue-haired girl then lunged at Claude's neck and sunk her teeth in as deep as possible, hoping that she was giving him a lot of pain.

The golden-eyed demon let out a small groan of pain. "So piercing... I can feel the river of blood stream from my body. What a beautiful sensation!"

"Mmm, you taste nice..." Saffi paused to lick up the excess. "It's going to be a while before this stops... Ahh, we have to do this again sometime!"

Claude gently caressed her cheek. "Yes we will."

"I am going to go now..." Sophia quickly left, only to nearly run into Penelope. The female reaper quickly moved out of the way and peered into the other room to see what all the fuss was about. "Yeah, run and let the demon win, why don't you?"

"And if they go further than just drinking blood? I love my innocent eyes."

"I heard that!" Saffi snapped before going back to feeding.

"A demon hunter with innocent eyes?" Penelope scoffed.

"It was a joke, you know."

"I'm a bit tired of those since I'm usually the butt of them at work."

Saffi rolled her eyes, looking at Penelope as she paused to catch her breath. "You want to see something rash?" She asked as she went back to drinking.

"..." Penelope didn't get it.

"Mmm..." Saffi whined in frustration as she realized that Claude was healing himself. It's stopped... Y'know, I used to hate you..."

"And I used to not care for you, but that could change." Claude slowly pulled away. "I must return to my master. Good day."

...

Sophia didn't want to move Luka until he regained consciousness. "Luka! I'm so sorry."

"Sophie! Is it broken? It's broken, isn't it?" He added when he saw the look on her face.

"I am not a doctor, but by the way your leg is bent, I'm going to say yes. Come on, let's go to the hospital."

"But I can't get up!" Luka winced and bit his lip when Sophia picked him up in response.

"Hey, my brave solider, just think about how you're going to be treated when you get home."

"Treats?"

"Yeah. You know what, that demon's always treating you anyway."

"H-H-Hannah gets me...ice cream." Luka shivered and tried not to cry as they entered the hospital.

Yeah, I know. Although, I think that she'll blame me for this. Not that I care though... _She's not a threat without her arms._"

...

"I can't walk very good with these." Luka stumbled around with the aid of his new child-sized crutches. The doctor had confirmed that his leg was broken and was able to quickly set his leg and put it in a cast since it was a clean break.

"Do you want me to pick you up then, kid?" Sophia asked.

"No, I can do it."

"I'm sorry."

Luka smiled. "It's not your fault, Sophie."

"Yes it is, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."

"But I told you to push me higher."

"...Is the pain any better, kid?"

"A little bit."

Sophia didn't reply but pushed the boy behind her when she saw Claude. Not that it mattered much - the golden-eyed demon pulled out a sharpie and wrote 'Claude Rulez' in the middle of a web that he drew on Luka's cast.

" I don't think Luka wants a demon's signature on his cast."

The boy in question stuck out his tongue a little as he pouted. "You do not rule."

Claude ignored the comment and wandered off to do some snooping.

"You're very brave." Sophia started again after a brief silence, ruffling his hair when he smiled at her. "What do you want to do now?"

"I want to go home..."

"Alright." Sophia nodded.

As soon as they got home, Luka hobbled over to the nearest couch and fell asleep.

...

_"Now, I believe it's time to do something useful whilst I'm in the Phantomhive manor."_

"What are you doing?"

Claude didn't even try to hide the fact that he was looking though a chest of drawers from Sebastian. "Looking for a broom."

The Phantomhive butler gave him a broom that he'd seemingly pulled from thin air. "Start cleaning then, since you're here."

"Psh!" Claude huffed. The golden-eyed demon waited until the other had left before slipping into Ciel's room. It had to be the little lord's - the human's scent was very strong, showing that he used the room in question often.

"Stop being so nosy." Claude found himself pinned against a wall. Apparently Sebastian hadn't gone far.

"But I already found something quite interesting..."

"And what would that be?"

Claude held up a set of fluffy white rabbit ears and a matching cotton ball tail. "Are these yours? If so, I didn't know you were a furry."

"They aren't mine!" Sebastian snatched the ears and tail away and hid them. No one (especially Claude) needed to know about his little...quirks. "I am going to kill you."

"And what's this? A dress for a young girl, or possibly a young boy? You shouldn't touch your charge like that."

"I'm going to _kill you_." Sebastian shoved Claude into the wall hard enough to send cracks through the plaster but the golden-eyed demon quickly slipped out of his grip and reappeared behind him.

"Doesn't this feel familiar?" Claude pressed a gold knife to Sebastian's neck only to feel the fine edge of a Phantomhive knife at his own throat.

"Perhaps."

"You're not worth it today."

"Neither are you."

...

"You know it's not nice to tell on people."

"She had a right to know." Elora folded her arms over her chest. She wasn't surprised that Dante had decided to track her down.

"That I was trying to take your soul away?"

"That you kissed me! I don't know what they mean to you demons, but kisses mean a lot in the human world. They're a display of large amounts of infatuation, and when shared between two people who aren't family or married they're considered wrong."

"I am telling you, it's how the soul is best extracted from the body," Dante sighed. "You humans and your feelings, honestly; you do realize that is what Sebastian is going to have to do to get your own soul?"

Elora hadn't thought of that.

"Exactly. You see, through kisses we are able to not only extract souls, but also to see what kind of soul it is and also if it is maturing."

"Like opening the door of an oven to see if the meal is finished or if it's any good."

"Precisely."

The blind woman massaged her temples, trying to get the demon's suddenly smug face out of her head, while turning to leave. "Why am I even hanging out with you? You've threatened me more than once already today, so I think I'm going to split."

...

"Good evening, your Highness. Would you like some tea?" Claude asked Alois later that day.

"Yes, I would, and don't make it too hot like you did before."

"Not too hot now," Thompson murmured.

"Wouldn't want to burn the master's tongue," Canterbury added.

"Wouldn't that be bad," Timber finished, all three of the demons triplets watching Claude.

The golden-eyed demon ignored the triplets and did as asked, bringing the blonde earl a perfect cup of Camellia tea. "Here, sir."

Alois took the cup but didn't drink. "Luka is back, Claude. Hannah brought him back, and she said that she didn't obey me anymore, but Luka isn't the same brother I used to know. He's...changed."

"What do you wish me to do then?"

"I want things how they used to be with you, the triplets, and Hannah. Luka isn't part of this family anymore, he abandoned me when he died. Claude, I want you to get Hannah back in a contract with me."

As if knowing she'd been summoned, Hannah slowly walked into the room. "Even thought I am no longer contracted to Luka, my life belongs to him now... I apologize."

However, the demoness was ignored.

_"Don't care... So bored... I wonder where Ciel is?"_ But what Claude actually said was, "You still belong to me, your Highness. Remember that."

"But he will try to take you away from me too; one by one, you will all go. And I'll be on my own again."

Claude's eyes shifted from dull gold to brilliant vermillion. "Shall I kill him then?"

"Yes."

The Trancy butler moved to the sleeping Luka's side and calmly moved the blanket covering the boy just enough to comfortably grasp his neck. Vertebrae creaked as he considered whether his master would want suffocation or a snapped neck to be the cause of death.

"..." Luka woke up but froze when he saw the demon standing so close.

Claude moved away a little and waited for the boy to relax before moving behind him and knocking him unconscious. Alois hadn't told him when Luka needed to die, after all...

"Is it done yet?" Alois asked.

"Yes, your Highness."

"Owww..."

Well, Luka recovered faster than expected...

"What did you do to him?" Alois glared at his demonic butler.

"I sent him into a state of senselessness. It appears that he's waking up now."

That wasn't what Alois wanted, but it would have to do for now. "Maybe that will teach him that he can't take what is mine. But Claude, you won't leave me, right? You'll stay by my side forever?"

"Yes, your Highness. Once I devour you, you will be with me for eternity."

"That's what I want."

"W-w-what happened?" Luka rubbed his head. "My head hurts... Hannah!"

Hannah, who'd watched the entire scene, unfroze and rushed to his side.

"Is Luka okay?" Sophia asked as she walked by the room.

"I don't know... Please, can you help me?" The armless demoness asked the demon hunter. Although she hated Sophia they both adored Luka.

Luka shivered when he pulled his hand back and saw blood on his palm.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you anymore..." Hannah looked down and shot a glare at Claude. "Claude knocked you out..."

...

_"Demons take souls through kisses... Then he would've had countless opportunities to take mine..."_ Elora thought to herself after she and Dante had parted.

"Hello."

Well, speak of the devil.

"Hey, how are you?" Elora replied to Sebastian.

"I am back to my normal self. You?"

"My head feels like it's going to explode, and I'm really hungry. Do you know if there is any cherry pie left?"

"Yes, there should be some left." The demonic butler handed her a slice. "Are you feeling all right? It would really suck if I lose your soul to illness."

"Don't worry yourself too much. I've gone through too much to be taken out by sickness. Mmmm... a little slice of paradise." Elora hummed and made sure there was a wall behind her before leaning against it and eating her pie.

"Still, you cannot be too careful. After you finish your pie, I want you in your room."

"Why? Is there another fight between Sophia and Hannah? If it's something like that, I can handle myself; I've been chased by a serial killer who slaughtered my entire family for the past year."

"I'm sure that you can handle yourself around humans, but not so much when it comes to supernatural creatures. Room, now. Don't make me repeat myself."

The blind woman sighed but finished her pie and went to her room, which was now unlocked. "I understand." _"I wonder what kind of mess has erupted now..."_

...

"Did someone call?" Hannah looked around, confused, before going to Luka's room. "Luka?" She'd gone to find something to clean Luka's head with, and when she came back, he was gone.

Unfortumnately, the demoness ran into Sophia first. The demon hunter had just moved the boy to his own room.

"Luka broke his leg when I took him out to the park."

"H-Hannah...?"

Hannah turned to Luka, who was rubbing his eyes again but no longer covered by the blanket he had on the couch. "Oh my gosh... Your leg!"

"I fell," the boy yawned again.

"I guess we're both a bit...injured..." Hannah glared at Sophia a little.

The demon hunter smirked. "just don't try to hug him. Oh, I forgot you don't have any arms."

"What happened to your arms?"

"Well, I had a small accident in the kitchen, darling..." The boy wouldn't like to hear that she'd lost them fighting.

"You should be more careful, Hannah. Can't you heal them?"

"Like my, eye, which is already much better, it will take a while."

Luka pulled Hannah down to his level and gently touched her face. You should be more careful since you keep getting hurt," he sniffled. "I don't like it when you get hurt."

"When your leg is healed, do you want to do some training again, Luka?" Sophia broke the silence.

"I think Luka would rather go to get some ice cream with me when he is feeling batter..." Hannah frowned.

"You aren't scared that he'll turn out like me?"

"Yes... Scared that he'll turn into a limb-severing, emotionless monster."

"Would you like your head to go next? I would very much enjoy kicking it around like a ball."

Luka looked between the two nervously. "...I want to be able to protect myself and Hannah."

"Then I will train you to the best of my abilities." The boy's answer wasn't exactly what the demon hunter was waiting for, but it was a start.

"Okay Sophie! Hear that, Hannah? I'm going to get strong!"

"I will train you the way that I learned how to be a hunter. You can protect the people you care about that way."

Hannah glared at Sophia again. "I guess that's okay, Luka..."

"Yay!"

* * *

**A/N: **I may change the way I switch plotlines - '...' is a little meh at times, in my opinion. Any suggestions?

* * *

[Roleplayer Credits]

CBI Writer

Fluffy-Little-MLH

Freedom of Creation

Magdalena Saffi-Ann Way-Iero

Ruby of Raven

TheSilentNeko

Snow Woman

SteelPorcelainMXIV


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